Dr. Dog Dr. Dog 2024

After only some 15 releases over the last 22 years, Dr. Dog release an eponymous record. And it is a good one.

There are some artists that make one record that stands out from, and above, the rest of their work. Del Amitri's Some Other Sucker's Parade, The Connells Still Life, The Proclaimers Persevere, they all fall into that category for me. And so does Dr. Dog's Shame, Shame. The follow-up, Be The Void comes awfully close, but can't knock Shame, Shame out of the top slot. I've enjoyed much of their other work, including B-Room and Abandoned Mansion. Their early records are a bit too lo-fi for my tastes, but many of the songs are very good, and there are always moments of brilliance. 

This one is one of the better ones, and while it might be an unfair comparison, it's not quite Shame, Shame.

The record features more mid-tempo and slow songs than usual, but they are mostly good ones. Lost Ones slowly builds to a loud mess, What A Night'll Do is a slow piano-heavy ballad that features a nice synth break, and Still Can't Believe is a pretty ballad. Fine White Lies is a slow builder that is reminiscent of Bowie's Five Years as it gradually becomes more dynamic. 

The noisy, stomping rocker Authority starts things off well. The funky beat and pretty melody of Talk Is Cheap rocks. White Dove has a fine guitar break, and the upbeat closer Love Struck has a catchy chorus, nice percussion, and what sounds like a pedal steel guitar. 

A few of their more recent ones (The Psychedelic Swamp, Critical Equation) have disappointed me a bit, so I was happy to hear them return to form with a solid outing. As usual, the drumming of Eric Slick is killer.