Robin Hilton | January 10, 2023
On many levels, this breathtaking Tiny Desk from dodie felt like the ultimate cathartic release. The English singer and her band arrived after more than a year and a half of planning and COVID-related delays; and, this was the final performance we had behind the desk in 2022, capping our long-awaited return to the building after more than two years of pandemic disruption. A lot of us who were lucky enough to see it in person were pretty teary-eyed by the end.

But it was also a release because the music and the way dodie and her band pulled it off were both so magical. Bassist Jillian McKenna is a dodie fan from Canada who joined the band just for this performance after answering a callout on Instagram. The three backup singers are friends who flew in from Los Angeles; the string section was a mix of dodie’s touring band and DC-based artists and fans of Orla Gartland can see her move from piano to guitar and floor tom during the set. dodie herself, who played everything from piano and clarinet to ukulele, and the rest of the band flew in from England solely for the Tiny Desk, arriving on Saturday and flying back Monday not long after playing.

Together, they filled the NPR Music office with songs that radiated with love and life, perfectly recreating the playful, kaleidoscopic spirit of dodie’s 2021 debut album Build a Problem and last year’s Hot Mess EP. Strikingly melodic, whimsical and wistful, dodie’s deep reflections on trauma, letting go and moving on were the perfect close to a year when it felt like we could finally exhale and come together again in song.

SET LIST
“Hot Mess”
“Special Girl”
“When”
“Lonely Bones”

MUSICIANS
dodie: vocals, piano, clarinet, ukulele, guitar
Orla Gartland: piano, guitar, floor tom, vocals
Ross Craib: drums
Jillian McKenna: bass, vocals
Nick Monopoli: viola
Katt Newlon: cello
Elena Abad: violin
Nataly Merezhuk: second violin
Jules Brave: backing vocals
Gaba: backing vocals
Anthony Gargiula: backing vocals

TINY DESK TEAM
Producers: Robin Hilton, Bob Boilen
Director: Maia Stern
Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin
Series Producer: Bobby Carter
Videographers: Maia Stern, Kara Frame, Pierre Kattar, Sofia Seidel
Audio Assistant: Hannah Copeland
Production Assistant: Jill Britton
Tiny Desk Team: Suraya Mohamed, Marissa Lorusso, Hazel Cills, Ashley Pointer, Teresa Xie, Joshua Bryant
VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins
Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann

#dodie #tinydesk #nprmusic

0:00 Hot Mess
3:12 Special Girl
6:52 When
12:00 Lonely Bones