Dog Is Dead (a fresh 5-piece indie pop band) are riding high off the wave of their first album, All Our Favourite Stories. These Nottinghamshire lads released their début album with Atlantic Records in October and are currently touring the far corners of the country promoting it. After the initial listen it is easy to taint them with the same brush as so many other sing-a-long indie pop bands, it is only when you delve deeper into All Our Favourite Stories that you realise what a gem of an album it is. From tracks such as, ‘Teenage Daughter’ and ‘Talk Through The Night’ it is clear that their music is written for live audiences packed into intimate venues, where the energy they produce can hum through the crowd like electricity.
The opening track on the album, ‘Get Low’, is unquestionably one of the best. With a base line rooted deep in the heart of the song it subtly gets your foot tapping, eager for more of this jazzy brilliance. On this track the front man, Rob, sings adoringly, recounting memories of his adolescence: “Mary and I making friends starting fires, in the basement”. After this, the album faultlessly leads onto ‘Do The Right Thing’, a song characterised by multiple guitar lines and catchy lyrics. ‘Teenage Daughter’ the next prominent track is simply anthemic, bringing with it a whole new feel to a so far safe album. The band is ambitious in its attempt to create heavy hooks, similar to those of Bombay Bicycle Club, but within this track they manage it effortlessly.
Yet another beautiful song from All Our Favourite Stories is ‘Glockenspiel Song’ and may be known by younger audiences already (thanks to TV series Skins). It is not hard to imagine this number played to a field full of festival goers. It is truly uplifting and bright; littered with 80s style sax solos it is impossible not to enjoy. Finally ‘Any Movement’ brings to a close a charming début album; the relatively mellow sound has to be savoured as Rob’s vocals (“And we are lonely riders with our hearts on fire”) sharply contrast with the melodic tone.
From the look (and sounds) of things, Dog Is Dead have proven they can hold their own in an already overcrowded scene: they simply stand out from so many other indie pop bands. To get a real sense of what their music is about, it undoubtedly has to be heard and appreciated in a live atmosphere. Dog Is Dead are not just musicians. They are stories tellers, and incredible ones at that.
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Eva Lightfoot
Dance Yrself Clean
