Take Two Bones and Call Me in the Morning

The stars have really been alligning lately. I got a job offer back in L.A., got two hits in tonight's softball game, have a girlfriend that cooks incredible beef tenderloin, and finally had a chance to catch one of America's best new bands: Dr. Dog. Dr. Dog's most recent full length effort, Easy Beat, was my runaway #1 record of 2005. It combines the lo-fi charm of mid-90's standard-bearers GBV with the pocket and unabashedly soulful vocals of Motown's best. Well, at least the bassist, Toby Leaman, belts with the best of them. Scott McMicken, the diminutive, bespectacled/hatted other vocalist, approximates McCartney in a way that everyone would love if Band on the Run and McCartney got the love they rightfully deserve. Fans like me could live all day on the Dog's power-pop gold, but Easy Beat also plays hard to get on some tracks, rewarding those who listen on repeat. I've been meaning to see them forever (last time I tried to see them, I paid the cover, left before they came on, and totaled my car) so I was mad primed, son.

Toby Leaman's bass and stomp anchored the live performance. His relentless energy propulsed the songs beyond their lo-fi origins to, at times, cacophonous heights (come to think of it, once again much like the difference between recorded and live GBV). The band rushed through album opener "The World May Never Know," which sounded more like "Monkberry Moon Delight," if not your favorite Bee Gees song. The only cuts off the new Takers and Leavers ep - "California" and "Die, Die, Die" - favored slower tempos, tempered percussion, and lush harmonies. The former was sublime, almost perfect for a drive up Ventura Highway (at least for this California boy). On the latter, however, the band invited a friend on stage to play a simple drum pattern; unfortunately, the poor guy couldn't cut it - at all - and the band soldiered on, declining to so publicly embarrass their buddy.

Dr. Dog's next release is a full length scheduled for early 2007 release. New label Park the Van records, based in the band's hometown of Philadelphia, PA, is doing it's best to chronicle a bonafide scene. The excellent recent Capitol Years' release, Dance Away the Terror, as well as upcoming albums by The Teeth and other Philly bands not only draw from a specific locale, but a specific sound: good ol' guitar pop. Don't call it derivative; call it direct.

Oh, and one of Dr. Dog's guitarists looks just like Frenchie.

MP3s
Dr. Dog - Ain't It Strange
Capitol Years - Mirage People
The Teeth - Oh Bessie