With flux-capacitors still pulsating, Dopapod has emerged from its time machine with details of a new, self-titled album. Out on May 27th, the announcement of the quartet’s seventh studio album comes alongside its third single, “Black Holes”.
In its accompanying music video, Dopapod fleshes out the interstellar and interdimensional themes of “Black Holes”. All while remaining securely fastened in the studio, the band travels along parallel timelines and through alternate dimensions with syncopated rhythms. Communicating in its patented brand of robot rock, Dopapod cuts through the scientific jargon with sage wisdom sprinkled in, “All for one, and one for all / you’ll never fly ’til you learn to fall.”
“It’s a song about not giving up and thinking creatively to achieve the desired outcome,” keyboardist Eli Winderman said. “All for one and one for all is another concept that we try to tap into with improvising as well. The main focus is on the group to achieve moments of unity.”
Dopapod will mark the band’s first studio release since 2019’s Emit Time. That album marked the quartet’s return from a self-imposed hiatus for the duration of 2018. Following a sold-out comeback show at The Capitol Theatre in April 2019, the band had envisioned a “soft return” to touring, which was ultimately cut short by the pandemic less than 11 months later.
“The hiatus allowed us to redefine ourselves, and carry on with a lot of new energy. It was a restorative opportunity and helped us move forward,” drummer Neal “Fro” Evans said. “We definitely came back with new energy and new intention.”
Returning once again, this time from an externally-forced hiatus, Dopapod is picking up the threads of a “concept catalog”, an idea first introduced on 2014’s Never Odd Or Even. Dopapod will pick up on this sonic continuation with a multi-media approach, beginning with the album’s 11 tracks. Alongside the new studio releases, Dopapod has begun releasing an animated short film, Building A Time Machine, to accompany the tracks.
The band will take these concepts out of the digital medium and into the physical realm with a coinciding tabletop roll-and-move board game. Also titled Building A Time Machine, the board is implemented into Dopapod‘s vinyl jacket. With gameplay similar to Monopoly or The Game of Life, the game will take players through past Dopapod releases—as well as the new album—as they collect pieces of the band’s signature palindrome logo to achieve a win scenario.
Building A Time Machine was designed by the band’s longtime team member and former lighting designer Luke Stratton, who has since parted ways to pursue a career in designing role-playing games and maps. While brainstorming album artwork ideas for Dopapod, the group realized a greater overarching journey for the new release.
“We got to thinking, what if we’re building a time machine that allows us to go back through Dopapod’s history? In the game, each album is its own land, and every space on the board is a different song,” Stratton said. “We came up with the infinity loop concept and portal as a way to travel through the band’s history.”
Check out the music video for the new Dopapod single, “Black Holes”, and click here to pre-save the forthcoming album. The band is offering a variety of merch bundles to coincide with the Building A Time Machine board game, including game accessories such as meeple pawns, dice, game piece baggies, and Dopapod themed pads and pencils for keeping score. Scroll down for the full Dopapod tracklisting, album artwork, and the lyrics to “Black Holes”.
Dopapod – “Black Holes” (Official Video)
