Dogs At Large – ‘It’s Nothing I’d Wear.’
Dogs At Large – Chicago, Illinois, USA.
For our work on Dogs At Large’s sister band, Horrible – Click Here.
Sat somewhere between the 90’s, Punk, Garage and Rock n’ Roll, Chicago exports Dogs At Large have recently returned from an audio-fashion shoot with the above and defiantly proclaimed, ‘It’s Nothing I’d Wear’.
Released back in the early days of November, Musically Fresh has finally found the time to sit down with a release that doesn’t really sit anywhere in the genre-base specifically, rather on the fringe on a self-made eclectic seat.
‘Berlin Is Falling’ opens and with a sound deceptively easy listening. It is indeed “radio friendly” but beneath that facade there’s a beating heart of grit that’s barely suppressed and it beckons you. The Punk and Garage-isms do subside about two-thirds through however but they aren’t forgotten despite indeed falling to gloom and Post-Punk in the most satisfying way possible.
The wit of ‘Pathetic’ is something very special and you find yourself falling in-love with its blatant attack and disgust at the individual you have really had enough of. The distorted fuzz and gloomy pop sensibility is as endearing as ever as it leads into ‘Close Down The Registry’, a song that could have easily been released by The Clash back in the day but with that slight contemporary Indie flare.
For me, ‘Marble Statue Mouths’ sits as a perfect middling track. It’s cuts through the direction of the release thus far in its comparatively, and again, deceptively heavy tone.
‘Legion Of Colonial Youth’ boasts some of the best guitar work on the release, with the leads in the verses sitting very close to The Clash and Mick Jones once more with an oh-so sweet modern-line through the chorus’ that excited even this Skate Punk obsessive.
‘Mayfly Blues’ is misleading in its chop and change from a fast to medium tempo. As a track there is nothing amiss per-say but you feel as if it can’t make up its mind stylistically. That said, it does boast some of the best and societally aware lyrics on the release so its worth an increased attention focus, especially in its latter verses.
‘Cumulonimbus (Creos V)’ is made of three layers. The Post-Punk vocals contrasts with the Garage Rock rhythm section with its early Punk-Rock assertiveness in some sort of family feud while the lead guitar again shines through these clouds in its own world and in its own way away from argument ensuing behind it.
The closing ‘Abyss’ is a lyrical treat, it’s witty, real and brutally honest and relatable.
‘Staring into the abyss, when that abyss is all your own, is better than sitting on a toilet staring into your phone, waiting for something to happen, something you one thought you deserved…’
It’s a song I could quote for days, I could write out the lyrics for you now and close the review on just those words but I won’t, because you need to listen to this EP and get this far on your own.
Find the band below:
#StayFresh
