For their latest album, Philadelphia's own Dr. Dog continues its trademark of taking all their influences and mixing them together into catchy, relatively concise songs. The result is a sound that is indescribable; a common classification would saying the "kind of sound like" an innumerable amount of other bands. While this certainly leads to a creative and interesting sound, it creates a harsh reality for the band: They sound too similar to too many other groups. The listener struggles to separate Dr. Dog from the band it paying homage to.
The band seems to be working at curating their own sound, however. Be the Void's precise combinations of indie and folk, awash in psychedelia, fosters a style that is "Dr. Dog." Whereas many indie artists are making a name revamping early 80s dance pop, Dr. Dog is reviving the psychedelic jangle of the 60s. They are certainly forming their own identity, it is just taking too long (7 albums and counting) to do so.
Despite the bands shortcomings, Be the Void displays Dr Dog's continuation of well crafted and easily accessible songs. The band, perhaps because of all their influences, have impeccable song writing sense and capabilities. They abandoned some of their heavy instrumentation for a sparser, more bare boned, sound; relying on the primary band rather than guest instruments. The result is a rawer album based more on spontaneity and controlled chaos. Be the Void is an interesting record, from an interesting band. While Dr. Dog evolves, the audience can happily rely on these listener friendly songs in the meantime.
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