Search - Smog :: Doctor Came at Dawn

Luke doesn't know.

07/13/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"well first of all. this cd is a great, and powerful cd. in the review from Luke (which helped 5 out of 20 people) i think that some one who dosen't listen to smog should just keep their mouth shut. i guess all of the college drinking and smoking "dope" made all of the good taste pour itself from the pores of his skin only to be left behind on some cold and unused sidewalk. where it was left dying, but i don't think that it matters since apparently he didn't use it before. anyway in this cd you can hear (smog) coming to form. i can just read the lyrics to myself and hear the music, and think grace is the sound from which bill touches"

Pretty Good

gillettecourt | 11/17/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I will agree that Luke's review is ridiculous. BUT... this album is not quite as great as everyone says. Bill Callahan's guitar is always out of tune (this is especially apparent with doubled guitar passages), and all of the playing is very sloppy. It's almost as if Callahan is making up the music as he goes along, and is unsure of what note he's going to play until it's too late. This doesn't hurt all of the tracks, though. It gives a few of them the feeling of floating in and out of water (if you happen to be looking at the album cover while listening).
Those complaints aside, the songs on this CD are mostly very good. Callahan's simple, repetive, dark, and melancholy chord changes provide a perfect backing to his droning baritone voice. The lyrics are equally as dark and melancholy, and seem quite mysterious as well. It's as if they paint pictures of emotions (mainly sadness) rather than dealing with them in any direct sense. Most of the time, you don't really know what Callahan is talking about, but you feel his emotions.
"Doctor Came At Dawn" is Smog's darkest release to date. Highlights include "You Moved In", "Spread Your Bloody Wings", and "All Your Women Things". Personally, I prefer Callahan's partner Cindy Dall, Mark Eitzel, Ida, Red House Painters, Idaho, or Dakota Suite over Smog in the sadcore genre. But if you are a fan of lo-fi sadcore, this is still good stuff."

Pain and Suffering Never Felt This Good

Timothy Caulfield | Upland, California USA | 05/22/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Bill Callahan has created a masterpiece that is really beyond words. All I can say is that if you've recently had your heart torn out and stepped on with a pair of soccer cleats, THIS is the album for you. Tenderness and nostalgia, bitterness and despair, Doctor Came At Dawn is frighteningly accurate in its depiction of a breakup you can only relate to. Be prepared to reach for the Kleenex... Smog you're a genius."