Today, celebrated Philly band Dr. Dog release their third album, Fate. In what is quickly becoming a Philebrity tradition — we’ve already examined new albums by The Roots and Man Man — Joey Sweeney and Doug Wallen sat down recently to chat about the record, track by track. We’re calling these things The DoJo Debates. What follows is their complete, unexpurgated discussion, along with photos and a stream of Fate in its entirety.

DW: OK, here we go! Track one: “The Breeze.” Scott McMicken song. Starts real quiet. Harmonies and percussion comes in nicely after a minute or so. Sounds like the beach. Or, um, the breeze.

JS: You know, I’ve been thinking a lot about the Philly Class of ‘04/’05 recently. A lot of those acts — whether it’s Diplo or Man Man or Dr. Dog — have reached farther than I think anyone at the time would have ever thought. But now, all of those people could be subject to the early mid-career slump, and I think it’s make or break for a lot of these acts.

DW: Know what you mean, but they all seem to just be refining what they do best. Making use of expanded budgets etc.

JS: And I think that Dr. Dog has a pretty good shot here. That’s the context with which I’m pressing play, and it’s with major relief that track one is a Scott stony-jammer that just about anyone could get along with.

DW: Of course, any slump is in the ear of the beholder.

JS: The groove on this track is almost Al Green-ish, when it kicks in. I like it. “Hang On” is next.

DW: A Toby song. Also starts quiet. There’s that familiar piano bounce, with the usual harmony heaven… Slide guitar and great lyrics: “Why you think we need ‘Amazing Grace’ to tell it like it is?”

JS: Oh man, this is straight up Nilsson homage — sounds like it could have been on Pussycats. Damaged vocal chords, Ringo drums, somebody ring up Klaus Vormann and have him meet us at the Rainbow Room for Brandy Alexanders with ol’ Keith Moon.

DW: Well put.

JS: Interesting trivia: Dr. Dog showed up at my house late one night during the winter. They were really great guests, and shared their Miller High Life pounders freely. They sat in the living room on the rug listening to records while everybody else was in the other room playing dice. I shouldn’t have played dice that night.

DW: Like I said, refining what they’re good: folky ’60s rock with piano and harmonies and SOLID structures and lyrics. Hard to bear. HARD TO BEAT.
I go back with them to West Chester, which was a tiny and weird and super-fun scene.
This third song — “The Old Days” — is kinda jaunty and swaying and almost prog-y. They sounded a bit more like at their last JB’s show. Saloon-style piano interlude.

JS: “The Old Days”: Picking up the thread from “My Old Ways”?

DW: … and “Old News.” These dudes dig the old. Zach used to (and may still) collect dead lightbulbs…

“We’re sorry, ma’am. There’s just no way we’re gonna be able to convert
this here Model T to biodiesel. Consarnit!”

JS: I forgot to ask you: Have you listened to this record before right now? I am keeping my habit of first-listen-with-Dougers.

DW: Oh yeah, I’ve spun it a few times and saw them play some of them at JB’s. Okay, onto track 4: “Army of Ancients.” Warm organ sound to start. Toby song. Quivering singing. Sounds kinda Spector-y.

JS: You know, a crueler critic could make great use of that dead lightbulbs bit, but I’m just gonna say this: I’m wondering if and hoping that this is the record where Dr. Dog lays down the Boomer Rock Worship and goes all present-day. I kinda felt it in the groove on the first track, and I want more.

DW: Sad/pretty and more lyrics about animals and old stuff… but this is not that record. If anything, it’s more ’70s than ’60s but it’s still very retro, for lack of a better term at the moment. Horns on this track, btw. And strings.

JS: Well, here’s the thing, though: I know it’s subtle, and maybe even a reach, but the more soulful bits here might show a light at the end of the retro tunnel that lands them onstage with Mark Ronson, Amy Winehouse, the Daptone Band, Gnarls Barkley, et al. Because this is basically the rockist version of that.

DW: Yeah, definitely this track. Almost girl-group-y…. I hear ya. BUT CAN YOU DANCE TO IT?

JS: So to prove that old Onion article, perhaps we’ve just run out of “now” and maybe the “present” is simply this nebulous, every-age-at-once “past.”

DW: Track 5: “The Rabbit, the Bat, and the Reindeer.” It’s like a zoo in here! or, um, a forest….

JS: The whole indie animals thing has got to stop. The other night I saw a fistfight at Johnny Brenda’s where in the end, some guy pulled an owl out of his ass and used it like a Chinese star.

DW: Y’mean everything’s been done already? Maybe. Owls are so hot right now. (cough)

JS: Ooh, the chorus on this great though. And you CAN dance to this! Holy shit, Dr. Dog! Let’s do this!

DW: [Simultaneously] Totally! Perhaps I COULD dance to this…
Jinx!

JS: Is this like “the single?” It should be. This is a great track. I only wish they could have spent $50K on it like a Badly Drawn Boy soundtrack jam. Ok, track 6: “The Ark.” Totally lifting the groove from “Slave” by Rolling Stones with a soupcon of sinister Eagles/Joe Walsh licks. This one’s for dudes.

DW: A whiskey-drinking song. And this song or another mentions whiskey, I’m pretty sure.

JS: On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair…

DW: Biblical and wartime….

JS: Livin’ it up at the Hotel Fishtonia. You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.

DW: I do feel like this album is a little more Stones-y, like the last one was more Bowie-ish. But still, y’know, plenty Beatles-y.

JS: Not into this one at all. Skip?

DW: NO DUDE. HANG IN THERE.

JS: Oh look it’s already over! Next: “From”

DW: Fine! Barbershop opening!

JS: I like this one already. Is that The Silver Ages men’s choir in the background?

DW: Singin’ ’bout death! It could very well be…. You like the Scott songs more, it seems.

JS: This is really gorgeous and sweet. Ladies, you can finish your cigarettes and come back in! The duderock has subsided! YOU like the Scott songs more, it seems.

DW: Duderock forever.

JS: No way, this one makes me wanna hug everybody in the room.

“We might could be OK with some huggin’.”

DW: “Choo choo train” … there’s some nursery rhyme-ish stuff on this record. HUGS ALL AROUND. Diggin’ the guitar.

JS: Like I just crossed some kind of finish line. It’s a rare song that can do that. There’s, like, “Right Down The Line” by Jerry Rafferty, and that’s about it. Yo, do you have a joint on you, man? It’d be a lot cooler if you did.

DW: It’s hard to be angry when there’s so much beauty in the world. Sorry, dude, I’m on all-smoothie diet!

JS: This and that Rabbit song are real achievements. Next up: “100 Years.”

DW: Maybe this song’s a little overlong though? Oh wait, a near-a capella finish. Very nice…

JS: Oh man, this sounds like The Band.

DW: Dig the rickety drum. Country-tinge to Toby’s singing.

JS: I think this might be a Toby song I can get into. He’s got that Rick Danko lump in his throat that gets me every time. This is the Dog’s “Makes No Difference.”

DW: THE WHISKEY SONG: “cut my water with Rebel Yell.” Oh hell yeah. pour me another.

JS: Tell you what, the track order here is really well put-together; the record actually gets a lot more interesting in its second half. It’s like when a band plays all the hits up front and then does the set for the HEADS.

DW: Good point. LOVE the lyrics on this one. I’m climbing inside.

JS: ‘Bout a minute too long, but who cares? I’ve got all summer.

DW: I like how you get used to the harmonizing and almost zone it out. Icing…. Cello? Yeah, a bit long. But another quiet, pretty finish. No need to wake the neighbors…

JS: Next up: “Uncovering The Old”: Really interesting drum/guitar lockstep here.

DW: Yeah, strangely grabby beat from the word go. Kinda dreamy/surreal otherwise, so far. I also like how they’re not afraid to mix their vocals high. No indie-rock hide-and-seek…

JS: This sounds like it could be a HUGE like ELO song, which keeps bringing me back to the notion that they should have produced this album “bigger” a la Dave Fridmann or, in a more retro vibe, the aforementioned Jeff Lynne.

DW: More strings/horns. C/o of the one Buried Beds dudes, I suspect.

JS: Somebody out there please give Dr. Dog one million dollars to do their next record with Jeff Lynne. I think they’re proving all over the place here that they can carry the weight.

DW: Man, them with Fridmann would be INTERESTING. But goodbye high vocals. he’d bury ‘em alive….

JS: “The Beach”: Toby, please stop shouting.

DW: Few young bands write such sturdy songs. Very reliable songwriters, these guys. Ladies, take another smoke break. Gentlemen, order more whiskey.

JS: This is actually going for a Man Man/Waits ramshackle vibe, no?

DW: It is a bit fall-apart-y, but he’s not singing that different from usual. Maybe digging a lil deeper vocally… More Bible nods. Mention of fate — inspiration for the album title?

JS: They should have cooked this one a little longer and made it groove like “Riders On The Storm.” That way, all the girls would have stayed. It’s lonely and screamy in here now.

DW: Organ and guitar are wrestlin’. I’m into it. Some Hoots & Hellmouth influence? West Chester represent!

JS: On this we disagree. This shouldn’t-a made the cut. But it’s all in the past now, because holy cow! We’re at the last song!

DW: Already!

JS: That’s a good sign.

DW: T Rex-y?

JS: It’s called “My Friend”: I LOVE the guitar on this. Totally — “Ride A White Swan.”

DW: Brandywine mention! Shivering orchestral-ish add-ons….

JS: Man, the Scott tunes on this record are just killin’ me. They are so sweet and human and honest in the coolest, most un-singer–songwritery ways.

DW: Sounds like they’re both singin’….

JS: Sounds like EVERYBODY’S singin! Oh snap! Surprise ending! Should we talk about it or not spoil it? Oh this is fucking hot. I’m not gonna describe it. No spoilers!

DW: TIGHT! I wanna hug them hard and then listen to this on repeat while barbecuing….

JS: Well, suffice it to say, that with like 2 clunkers aside, I think this might be the best Dr. Dog album yet. It is dripping with manlove that I bet even ladies could get into.

DW: I think each one gets better. Man, that was fun. Like, FUN.

JS: I just wish they had a bigger budget. They are clearly ready now to make records of great majesty, and perhaps be one of the last bands in the world to do so. Is Bob Ezrin still alive? Because he should get familar.

DW:I know what you’re saying, but I’m nervous about them glossing things up too, too much. They still sound like a barn band and I like that.

JS: No way. These dudes have spent the last 5 years in a van, They obviously know how to stretch a dollar.

DW: Zach spends less money than anyone I’ve ever met….

JS: They would be well served with the power and freedom that can come with a million dollars and the dude who produced “Telephone Line.” Thanks, Dr. Dog.

DW: I mean, Beck loves them and their jam fan-base is growing, so they could have a real shot here. And they’re getting bigger in Australia every day….

JS: So I hear!

Previously: Special Report: Inside The Roots’ Super Mega Bummer New Album
Special Report: Can Your Man Man Do The Dog?

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008 at 3:42 pm.