Customer Reviews

Easy Beat [Vinyl]

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Dr. Dog..... What a terrible name. Bad enough that I almost decided not to buy it, even with all the great reviews, but I'm glad I did.....it's great. I don't know if I can exactly call this a classic, but it's a whole lot of fun to listen to. It's hard to say who it actually sounds like, but the references to their influences are entirely fair. Big Star, The Beach Boys, and the Beatles are all over this bands sound, but not in the way you're probably used to. Bands like Apples in Stereo copy such bands with great ease and excellent results, but never really manage to sound like anything more than an updated version of the aformentioned bands. Dr. Dog don't really have this problem. Their songs manage to be fresh and familiar all at the same time with fractured guitar leads and oddly perfect vocal harmonies only adding to their already unique sound. Sadly, this is not a band that will probably be taking over the minds of mainstream consumers anytime soon. It lacks the clean sound of bands like the Arcade Fire and Interpol, but the bands rough-around-the-edges sound suits them perfectly and only accentuates the sublte intensity in their sound.

I don't really write the most coherent reviews, but just trust me on this one. It's not a record to be passed up.

Every now and again a band comes along that isn't trying to sound hip, doesn't force cynical lyrics, and isn't desperate for fame. Enter the Dog. Their sophomore cd, Easy Beat, is one of the best new cd's I have heard all year, including amazing artists like Devendra Banhart, TV on the Radio, Loretta Lynn and Rogue Wave. While they do sound like an amalgamation of bands you've heard before, like the Beach Boys, like the Beatles and a little like Ween at times, the combination of their melodic keys, distorted guitar, delicate arrangements, and amazing vocal harmonies is like nothing you've ever heard. My advice is to buy the cd immediately and learn the words. Next time they play in your town you'll want to be able to sing along with the rest of the crowd to songs like "oh no." These guys are a rarity in the industry. I had a chance to meet them and was relieved to find them charming, down to earth and genuinely a humble group. They recently had their tour van broken in to (March 2005) during which all of their guitars, amps, and pedels were taken. Thankfully Gibson came to their rescue loaning them guitars so that they could continue the tour. I saw them 3 times and each show was incredible. I really love all the tracks on Easy Beat and was amazed at how easy it was to love songs from their first album, Toothbrush, that I had not heard. In a culture obsessed with Mtv booty shaking and money making it's so nice to have found a new band that absolutely brings music back to where it belongs, in three part harmonies and friendly good old fashioned rock and roll.

The reviewer above tries to describe Dr. Dog's sound rather accurately with alot of "meets." With so many meets, how bout we agree that Dr. Dog is unique! Hooray for Dr. Dog! I just bought this cd recently, and I haven't stopped listening. When I initially saw that there were only nine songs, I was dissapointed, but they are nine incredible songs, with plenty to chew on (with your ears I mean). I wish that there were those thirty second sound clips for this album, so that the potential buyer could hear the songs. I'm certain that the infectious nature of the music would dig it's way into anyone's brains, even with a thirty second sample. With that said, buy this cd, it will make you wish you could write really catchy songs.
PS: see them live.
PPS: buy the album.

These guys have a totally fresh sound. Think the three B's (Beatles, Beach Boys, Big Star) meets Neil Young meets Uncle Tupelo meets Bowie meets Tom Waits and - oh yeah - Guided by Voices and Pavement. So they reference all of this great classic stuff and yet they very clearly have own distinctive sound. And the music is so inviting and confident and intimate that you might feel like you have known these songs your whole life...and maybe you have. I haven't felt this excited by a new band in a while. There's something for everyone.

Dr. Dog's pretty obscure but I find Easy Beat to be about as good as any album Ween or the Beatles ever made. It just might be the best album I've bought this year. It just gets better with each listen. The lyrics are non-sensical and psychadelic with the melodies to match. Yet it's still pretty accessible and catchy. It's a little ruff at first, but that's part of the appeal. Just go out and buy it, man. It doesn't matter what kind of music you already like or are into, Dr. Dog doesn't fit into any category and there's no typical type of fan at this point so you don't have to worry about that mumbo jumbo. Just let your ears do the decision making for you.

I'm a little embarrassed that I first heard about this band on NPR (it makes me feel even older and squarer than I am!) and embarrassed, too, that I responded like a Pavlov dog to the Beatlesque surface of their sound. But after several listens, I heard a lot more going on. These are carefully crafted songs with creative parts and changes in spades, but the band's not afraid to muss up the pop perfection with rasps, distortions, howls, and lazy off-time solos that give their music more of the urgency of indie rock. They recorded Easy Beat on tape, and the production has that special warmth and sense of space you just can't get with digital. I don't picture these guys as gearheads fiddling in a studio for months to sound like "Abbey Road" (Elephant 6, anyone?). They seem more like a bunch of close, talented musicians who've played together for hours to hone their songs. The CD hasn't come out of my player for weeks, & can't wait to hear them live.

I discovered Dr. Dog last summer, and "Easy Beat" was my first exposure to the band. The harmonies are excellent and very Beatles-like. I would provide individual songs which are album highlights, but then I would be listing every song on the album. There is simply not a weakness on this CD. One of the best of the last decade.

When I heard a band called "Dr. Dog" was going to be opening for Architecture in Helsinki back in 2005, I wasn't particularly thrilled. I'm not particularly a fan of Dr. Hook, or Dr. Dre, and I really couldn't call to mind any other musical "artists" with doctorates.

surprise, surprise.

I was floored by their easygoing harmonies, and loose guitar swagger. They were immediately my favorite band thereafter, and this is by far their best work. They muster up the kind of sincere playfulness of Paul McCartney in their lyrics and melodies, and the analog recording has all the depth and glory of Brian Wilson's best studio magic. There is beautiful slapback echo from the drum kit throughout, giving it a genuine roomy sixties feel, and the intertwining, not-too-macho guitars growl without overpowering. This is easily the most charming album I've ever touched. I will certainly buy it all over again when it's released on vinyl next month. It's analog, as it should be. Warm, fuzzy, intimate. No precocity here, just golden nostalgia.

This is a CD which you can play over and over and still get enjoyment out of. It is a charming album of brooding non-sensical but utterly ingenious lyrical foreplay that winds through a paradise of riffs, bass lines and crooning. Their songs seem instantly recognizable and they are sing-a-longs in the first listen. The quintet from Philadelphia has REALLY found something here. A simple melodic structure that begs to be played over and over again. This CD promises to change your life. And it doesn't fall short.

Dr. Dog's Easy Beat is by far one of the best records I own. There is not a mood these songs do not fit, whether joy, anger, anxiety, even laziness. These tracks are laced with incredible hooks, provoking lyrics, old-time sensibility, and a fun, chill-out vibe.

From the drum intro to "The World May Never Know," I was hooked. The plodding, rolling rhythm just tows you through the entire song as if you were in a parade. Tables' seering vocals and heavy bass carry through "The Pretender," a melody-shifting tune that reaches full potential when the band performs it live. Plus, what band uses the word "raize" in their songs? Not many. "Oh No" is also a crowd pleaser live, and why not? with its sixties-pop grooves and sing-along outro. Great guitar work pops up all over the title track, from the tremolo-picked intro to the arpeggio fills. The album takes a solemn breath when it hits the haunting "Dutchman Falls."

It's a well needed break, before side two kicks off with the screeching, noise-meets-motown beat of the hit "Fool's Life." A bit of a desperate track, the choruses of "Say Something" build to epic sonic heights, while the mention of barbecues and lemonade in "Today" brings a backyard-party calm to the record. Finally, with a Beatles-esque beat, more sing-song background vocals, and a raucous acoustic breakdown, "Wake Up" closes Easy Beat beautifully.