Tracks
Dr. Dog: "Ain't It Strange"
(2006)
By Dominick Duhamel | 29 January 2008
The Yellow Submarine has been in a state of disrepair for some time now; its portholes are crusted-over with an opaque caking of salt, its rusted frame groans under its massive weight, and its once-vibrant yellow exterior is now reddened, chipped and faded. Occasionally, a Britpop band-of-the-week will take it for a joyride, but it mostly spends its days in the corner of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, gathering dust, waiting for relatives to visit, a tribute to days of seafaring and adventure long gone.
“Ain’t It Strange,” the opening track on Dr. Dog’s new EP, Takers and Leavers, isn’t content to simply rebuff the Yellow Submarine, but is bent on reinventing the vessel altogether. The original, antique fittings are still there: the sweet vocal harmonies, the infectious piano and bass groove, that warm, low-fi sheen; but that’s where the similarities end. The Philadelphia-based quartet has an eye for renovation -- a sleigh bell chorus, five seconds of dissonant noise before the second verse, a quick marching drum riff, and a series of tape delayed vocals, to name a few -- but where most bands would struggle to manage the dichotomy of classic sixties feel and modern experimentation, Dr. Dog proves they have songwriting faculty that would do the Captain Nemos of Elephant Six proud.
And that’s when they take it drag-racing: the verses are riddled with memorable one-liners like, “Ain’t it strange / how everybody says I love you / ain’t it a shame / how a word can tell you more than words can say”, while the choruses shift the center of focus to the band’s four-part harmonies. After the second chorus, the band begins a buildup that unexpectedly dissolves into an a capella breakdown before reassuming its momentum during the gorgeous, densely layered outro. It’s refreshing to see a little-known band flaunt the confidence to take a worn artifact from the UK, strip it bare, and rebuild it for the '00s, without ever sounding an international distress call. The Canadian Navy could learn something from Dr Dog.
“Ain’t It Strange,” the opening track on Dr. Dog’s new EP, Takers and Leavers, isn’t content to simply rebuff the Yellow Submarine, but is bent on reinventing the vessel altogether. The original, antique fittings are still there: the sweet vocal harmonies, the infectious piano and bass groove, that warm, low-fi sheen; but that’s where the similarities end. The Philadelphia-based quartet has an eye for renovation -- a sleigh bell chorus, five seconds of dissonant noise before the second verse, a quick marching drum riff, and a series of tape delayed vocals, to name a few -- but where most bands would struggle to manage the dichotomy of classic sixties feel and modern experimentation, Dr. Dog proves they have songwriting faculty that would do the Captain Nemos of Elephant Six proud.
And that’s when they take it drag-racing: the verses are riddled with memorable one-liners like, “Ain’t it strange / how everybody says I love you / ain’t it a shame / how a word can tell you more than words can say”, while the choruses shift the center of focus to the band’s four-part harmonies. After the second chorus, the band begins a buildup that unexpectedly dissolves into an a capella breakdown before reassuming its momentum during the gorgeous, densely layered outro. It’s refreshing to see a little-known band flaunt the confidence to take a worn artifact from the UK, strip it bare, and rebuild it for the '00s, without ever sounding an international distress call. The Canadian Navy could learn something from Dr Dog.