Dollop-mite!
Cardiff's The Take derive from the band Fishtake who were formed in 1998, but like all parents when naming a child you have to be aware of name variants, and so being referred to as Fishcake or Fishtank, it was decided that the best course of action would be to shorten it to The Take. Who would've known the thought put into this?
'Dolomite', at times can be a mish-mash of musical styles although for the most part it is melodic indie with a sneaky twist of punk. First song, 'Leather Jacket' has a very specific and musical direction within each instrument – let me explain: The guitar gives a nice melodic tune, whilst the bass line is thick, bouncy and almost Chilli Peppers, whilst the drums are energetic and trying, and succeeding, to knit the first two instruments together, before they all fall together in a thicker rock blast. It's short, and sharp and a good opening. 'Sample Life' blasts out as a highlight of the album in a fast rock infused anthem of a song, whereas the sound is more cleaner and you can hear the influences of bands like Fugazi and Husker Du, on 'Rubber Pigs'.
'Slow Ender' is a gentle and slow rock song that I'm not sure musically works. 'Hand Over Fist' is light, funky and a little like the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, 'Laika' is just two minutes of bizarre noises that I can only assume provide an unofficial intro to the next song 'Handshakes', which is another big ballsy rock song full of chunky riffs and big bass lines. We then have two more sort sharp slabs of indie-punk in 'Dover' and 'Patient', before the superb 'Awake For Hours', before things start getting a little strange. After songs of two minutes, we are then subjected to a seven minute epic called, 'The Lizard and The Light'. It's a song that goes from gentle Muse-esque melodic guitars, to post-hardcore shouting, back again to gentle, and then more aggressive, back and forth without really building to anything in particular, and therefore sticks out like the proverbial sore thumb! Leave the epics to Guns'n'Roses, lads!
The album finishes off with the gentle, 'Who's Right' before we have thirty-seconds of strange noises to close what is a slightly confusing album. There are flashes of quick sharp punk, along with more intellectual indie rock, but too much bizarre that is trying to be original, and thoughtfully experimental, but just comes across and uninspiring and annoying.
Sorry, but I think this one totally missed me, as although a couple of the songs, namely 'Sample Life' and 'Awake For Hours' are memorable, gelled in with the others I had no inclination to play the album again when it finished.