CD of The Week

Philadelphia favorites Dr. Dog started their eighth album B-Room, by building their own studio in the suburbs of Clifton Heights. The results can definitely be heard in their production. While the songs may be stripped down, the production value of this album is far superior to previous albums; it is more nuanced and mature.

Dr. Dog’s approach to creating the album was to build the studio at the same time that they recorded. The result is a much more unconfined approach to songwriting. As a consequence, the album has a relaxed flow, which at its core may be its main problem: the songs don’t seem to have a connection in terms of continuity. The album comes off as an eclectic mix of sounds and songs. An example is the bluegrass “Phenomenon” bumped up against the jangling “Distant Light.”

Yet, true to themselves, and their influences, Dr. Dog’s B-Room sounds as though it is a nodding throwback. Such as in the track, “Distant Light” and “Rock & Roll” you can hear the vocal influence of, perhaps, Bob Dylan. The album seems to be filled with nostalgic, shorter pop songs that have a syrupy, sweet melodic instrumentation, like in “Nellie”. The Motown sound is heard with staccato guitar, and xylophone in the track, “The Truth” and harking again with the guitar in “Minding the Usher”.

While they are giving a nod to the past, they have brought their songs into present day with not only their production value, but their heavy saxophone in “Long Way Down” and with their snappy beat in “Love”. This might not be enough to keep the interest of all modern music lovers, but is an intriguing next step in the career of some of Philly’s favorite sons. Dr. Dog play the Electric Factory once again early next year, on January 31st and February 1st.

*Donate $20 or more to Y-Not Radio this week to receive a copy of B-Room as our thank you gift. Click here for details.*