Dr. Dog
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Dr. Dog has been creating music in various incarnations in their hometown of Philadelphia for nearly six years now. From the humble beginnings of 'THE PSYCHEDELIC SWAMP', a concept album realized in the damp ruin of a flooded basement, through the critically acclaimed 'EASY BEAT' (2005) the band has cultivated a strong national following through their energetic live shows. They spent the better part of 2006 in the studio cooking up two new releases: a six song EP called 'TAKERS AND LEAVERS', and 'WE ALL BELONG', a long player that was released in February 2007.
The early years of Dr. Dog were spent largely in and around Philadelphia until the spring of 2004, when the band was invited to tour with My Morning Jacket after MMJ front man Jim James heard Dr. Dog's first non-concept album 'TOOTHBRUSH'. Using the money they raised on the MMJ tour, the band added a microphone to their home studio and recorded their second album 'EASY BEAT'.
The band first released 'EASY BEAT' on their own, selling it at shows and through the mail in cases where a generation of emailers were willing to put a check in an envelope and buy a stamp in return for a copy of the album. While not the most technologically savvy means of delivery the method worked to build a fan base outside of Philly for Dr. Dog and even caught the attention of a few journalists along the way.
Along with Rolling Stone, Spin, Alternative Press, Fader and many others, The Philadelphia Inquirer raved 'EASY BEAT' is an "infectious debut album ... Beach Boys-style three part harmonies layered over skewed bouncy rock songs." The New York Times went on to call 'EASY BEAT' an "extraordinary catalog of off kilter ballads and light-headed riff rock ... All nine songs, filled with breezy vocal harmonies and unexpected digressions ... epic."
Abandoning their usual method of production and opting for a new experience, Dr. Dog recorded 'WE ALL BELONG' on a 24 track, 2-inch tape machine as opposed to their previous releases, which were recorded on their faithful 8-track. A band that thrives on using creative muscle to overcome the inherent limitations of a minimal amount of equipment, the 24-track introduced new possibilities as well as new challenges. Taking full advantage of both, Dr Dog managed to make an album that at once captures the organic spirit that is so important to the band while introducing new layers of vocal harmonies and textured instrumentation the band had only been able to imagine prior. 'WE ALL BELONG' was recorded for a good part of 2006, in-between headlining dates and a European tour with Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and US dates with The Strokes.
The fall of 2006 marked the beginning of the most exciting stage in Dr. Dog's career to date. The band toured in support of 'TAKERS AND LEAVERS' beginning with a co-headline run up the west coast in early September with Cold War Kids. After that, the Dogs made their way to Houston, Texas to begin a tour supporting The Raconteurs. In addition, Dr. Dog toured the UK with the Magic Numbers and toured America with The Black Keys.
'WE ALL BELONG' features all the charms of Dr. Dog's critically acclaimed album, EASY BEAT, but introduces the listener to a rich complexity only hinted at in the band's earlier work.
