Dolorean

by Johnny Loftus
Dolorean emerged from sleepy Silverton, OR, in 1999, after guitarist/vocalist Al James invited Standard keyboard enthusiast Jay Clarke to play on a slew of his quiet, avant folk home recordings. Sudden Oak, the duo's debut EP, appeared that same year, and Dolorean began playing out. By 2001, they had resettled in Portland and were a fixture on the local literati scene, accompanying poetry readings and the like with their understated sound. By this point, drummer Ben Nugent had also joined the fold. Over the next year, Dolorean worked on recording its full-length and also added bass player James Adair. By mid-2002, copies of Not Exotic were making the rounds of CD players throughout Portland. The album saw its official light of day with a November 2003 issue by the North Carolina label Yep Roc. Violence in the Snowy Fields was released the following year. After taking a few years to write new songs and develop their sound, Dolorean came out with their third album, You Can't Win, in 2007.