Music reviews. CD reviews. Critically hip!

Music “dynamo” The Golden Dogs package their garage rock spirit and high energy into their newest album, Big Eye Little Eye, in the form of 12 mediocre albeit catchy as hell songs.

 

The second album from the 5-piece Canadian band is riveting with its lo-fi sound, contagious punching beats and raucous singing, combined with an interesting mix of tempos and volume (exemplified by louder, faster paced tracks like Dynamo and softer, slower songs such as Construction Worker). 

 

Honorable mention also goes to Saints At The Gates which is a rendition of “When the Saint’s Go Marching In” like you’ve never heard before with added rock lyrics and shouting chorus. And then, the energetic cover of Paul McCartney’s Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five is excellent and perfectly modernized without destroying its classic roots. 

 

The rest of the album follows suit with a myriad of spirited tracks, never losing its drive.

 

Although the album’s intense energy can be refreshing, at times the band’s faux-live sound can tire losing its listenability to plain noise and, hence, its likability.  

 

While the music is fairly diverse, the style has a bit of an Arcade Fire sound and a definitive Talking Heads influence, which is typical of many current indie bands and doesn’t seem very inventive or unique anymore.  

 

Despite the lack of originality, the band’s not bad.  Try to catch this one live if you can, as The Golden Dogs are gaining quite a reputation for their superb live shows.