There is something special knowing your favourite emo band lives down the road.
For those who have been to any Doris show in the past few months, the tracks on four trees may not come as a surprise, but perhaps an official release means you’re able to put a name to that song that they played in the middle of the set, or maybe the end. If you’ve been lucky enough to go to one of these shows, scream the lyrics, maybe even sit on the stage while you fear for your life, guitars inches over your head, and the threat of an amp teetering on the edge, one mosher’s push away crushing you – count yourself as just that: lucky.
Evident in their first EP Birthday Cards, and confirmed on this debut album, Doris are unconcerned with album relevance and longevity. Yet, longevity is exactly what they achieve; four trees is an album that feels as though it came out twenty years ago and today at the same and likely will feel the same twenty years from now. They have found the peace of aching and quiet moments, sombre whispers, and cries of the sincerest lyrics.
On ‘fairfield’, Doris are in no rush, sitting in discomfort and taking it as it comes – a flawlessly kept tempo that leaves every note hanging over your head as you bow to each blow. ‘i want to grow’ marks a cathartic break in the tension of the album – roughly also the song where vocalist Ziek might launch themselves into a crowd, nurturing the best of a pit, or invite the entire mosh on stage. In one of the most humble and understated tracks of the album, ‘quinn’ they take cues from midwest staples like Everyone Asked About You – bassist Bronte’s lines call on the twee vocals perfected by Hannah Vogan or perhaps Emily Yacina’s feature on Alex G’s ‘Treehouse’, and also more contemporary counterparts like They Are Gutting A Body Of Water.
four trees is an album looking to uphold the intimate responsibility that emo bands have to reach forward and hold your heart as you grow. It’s also undoubtedly an album that will serve as an artefact of the rich history of emo and DIY in NSW, for listeners and bands of the like to look back on and marvel.
Words by Rhea Thomas