Dr Dog - Easybeat - Audio Stream - Listen To Nine Tracks
Easybeat
Released 22nd August 2005
Emerging from the streets of West Philadelphia, Dr. Dog has been making music in various line-ups for four years. The core membership consists of: Toby Leaman on bass and vocals, Scott McMicken on guitar/vocals, Andrew Jones on guitar, Juston Stens on drums and harmonies and Zach Miller on keyboards. Andrew Jones has recently left the band to concentrate on being a contestant on TV game shows, and will soon be seen on America’s ‘Who Wants To be A Millionaire’. His replacement is the long-term friend of the band Frank McElroy. Formal identities however, don’t appear overly important to the band, as most of the time, they go by the aliases ‘Taxi, Table, Text, Time and Trial. As this is merely a press release, and not a psychiatric report, I am unable to say why.
The songs are peppered with lyrical gems such as “ I need all of your forgiveness and most of your love” and ‘How can it be that a fish in the sea can feel like it’s completely alone?’
Dr Dog have occasionally been known to sport beards.
The song writing of Leaman and McMicken, is obviously indebted to Dirk and Stig, yet owes as much to Tom Waits, Neil Young, the Thin White Duke and Pavement.
Easybeat was recorded at home, using one good quality and several not so good quality microphones. Somehow, what they managed to get down on tape, makes total sense, and does them complete justice. That they couldn’t resist using a rickety sounding delay unit on the drums to achieve the classic Spector sound, suggests there was a lot of laughter involved while making the record.
Easybeat is blessed with a good-natured, totally organic sound that makes it a joy to listen to. Like many of the greatest records, it sounds like a brilliantly happy accident, made by people for fun rather than profit. On paper, the components shouldn’t add up, but on record, Dr Dog are fantastic.
Tour news is:
3rd Sept Brixton Windmill
6th Sept Camden, Dublin Castle
8th Sept Camden Barfly