El Gato Dice – Dos

Dos is a collection of 10 tracks by San Francisco’s El Gato Dice. Matador is the opening effort, showcasing a thoughtful introduction that deflty blends together deliberate arrangements and a fuzz that rises and falls as the track continues. El Gato Dice are able to create a solid introduction to their Dos without having to sing a single world. Clean dovetails nicely with this first effort, tying together rich vocals (calling forth Dave Grohl and Steven Page) with tempestuous and impassioned instrumental arrangements. Trap is a high-water mark for Dos. The fullness that is achieved by El Gato Dice here is hard to match as all constituent elements – vocals, drums, guitar and bass – are able to create something gnarly and impressive in its raw power. so Say is another strong effort from Dos, linking together rock with alternative and containing just enough in the way of pensive guitars and supersonic vocals to appease fans of 1990s alternative and 1970s rock alike. The intricacies of the arrangements here stand up to repeat listens; while the overall track feels very straight-forward, a more intent focus will yield considerable depth to the song.

The acoustic version of Walk A Mile concludes Dos, providing a perfect counterpoint for the opening strains of Dos. The vocals are front and center during this composition, with little more than a guitar filling out the background. When a second set of vocals enters into the equation, there is a considerably greater depth imbued to the composition. With such a hopeful and richly emotive closing to the album, El Gato Dice are able to stoke a fire in listeners that will only be sated when the band releases a new album. Check out their Bandcamp for samples from Dos.

Top Tracks: Matador, Walk A Mile

Rating: 8.3/10