Dodos

God forbid I ever lump Meric Long in with all those coffeehouse clowns and puke-pop darlings who fancy themselves singer-songwriters, but in spite of his relative obscurity, Long is easily one of his generation's finest. While the San Francisco-based singer/guitarist of psych-folk-pop duo Dodos hones the callings of free-spirited, unhinged acts like Animal Collective, the music he makes with drummer Logan Kroeber embodies a spirit of its own. Long's light, ephemeral finger play on the acoustic guitar is fast, warm and focused, resonating under his refined lyrical hopscotch: "Listen to the voices of all the noises that keep ringing in your head / staring at the wall you trip and fall and think of other things instead." Add Kroeber's stomping tom-and-tambourine backbeat, which recalls the Velvet Underground's Moe Tucker, and that amounts to one shit-kicking good time.