OTOOTO marks the start of summer with their sweet, second album Dosage. Releasing on June 24th via April Records, this album is a direct injection of delight into the relaxing and warm days of summer. The band is composed of; Oilly Wallace on the saxophone, Jonas Due on trumpets, Calle Brickman on the keys, Andreas Svendsen on the drums, and Matthias Petri on basses. Dosage eases the listener into a state of relaxation through unbelievable sax solos, wonderful features from fantastic artists, and is a must-listen-to this summer.
Following the band’s first album This Love Is For You in 2021 - Dosage is a step in the right direction for this group. Inspired by shoegaze, funk, ambient electronic music, and r&B, OTOOTO fuels their sound by adding in features from the Sweedish alt/pop vocalist Lucky Lo and rapper E. Brown. Guitarist Johannes Wamberg, trombonist Tobias Stavnsgaard, and pedal steel guitarist Rasmus Skov are also on this album, and provide extra flair to each track they’re apart of.
Dosage starts with the cheerful track “BakaBaka.” Due to the drum’s steady tempo and the keys’ pleasant performance, this song is an excellent way to begin the album. This harmonization led into the bright and soulful tones of the trumpet. About halfway into this song, the listener understands the creative jazz-fusion that OTOOTO is, however, the band completely flips that on its head with the inclusion of ambient, otherworldly, spaceship-like electronic notes. This eventually leads into free-form jazz.
“Cherry Icecream” displays a more mellow sound than how “BakaBaka” ends, and Wamberg’s guitar made for an incredible pair with Stavnsgaard’s trombone. The group titled this track accordingly due to its comforting atmosphere, and dash of sweetness.
Moving forward, track three “MLF” features Skov on the pedal steel guitar. The ambient sounds heard in this song is similar to those heard in “BakaBaka,” however “MLF” is also reminiscent of retro space-themed, platform videogames from the ‘90s. This trait made the song stand out amongst the rest of the tracks heard thus far, and about halfway in, the sax takes center stage and the track travels into another level. The space-age themes heard in this track can additionally be heard on track five, “Dish.”
“Everything Matters to Me” features the hip-hop artist E. Brown, as well as guitarist Wamberg. Brown makes himself known in this track by the use of his distinct lyrics and tone of his voice. “Everything Matters to Me” demonstrates the group’s effortless ability to transition into the different styles of jazz rap, and displays OTOOTO’s growth.
The second half of this record begins with the funky song “You Should Know Me Better (feat. Lucky Lo).” To put it bluntly, Lo’s performance on this song is glorious, and her vocal range compliments each instrument featured. The root lyrics “You should know me better” are frequent references in this song, thereby making them sound catchy. Additionally, there is another astonishing sax solo towards the end of the song which made everything feel alive.
OTOOTO slows the album down a bit with the song “Spruce,” whereby the drums, bass, keys, and sax all play a slow rhythm that eventually crescendos until the trumpet hits a phenomenal solo. Moreover, the name of the song, and the way in which it leisurely conducts itself, can figuratively be seen as someone taking a stroll through the woods; which complimented the album nicely.
“Take a Little Time” features Lucky Lo once again, and this song positively rules. Following in the steady rhythm of “Spruce,” “Take a Little Time” has the keys setting the song in motion, and leads into Lo’s gentle vocals, “Take a little time, to be still.” About halfway into this song everything explodes with flavor as the sax beautifully performs.
Dosages ends with the song “One Berry to Carry,” and features Rasmus Skov on the pedal steel. This song allows the listener to recover from the incredible sax in “Take a Little Time,” and lays itself out like a calm summer night. The keys in this song resemble some of the outer-space vibes that introduced itself to the listener at the beginning of this album – so it made the entire album sound complete.
The beauty behind Dosage is remarkable, and OTOOTO’s vibrant ability is sensational to hear. Wallace, Due, Brickman, Svendsen, and Petri are all very talented and shine through the summer with their sweetest album to date. Dosage will be available on all major streaming platforms on June 24th, and the vinyl is available through aprilrecords.bandcamp.com/merch.
