The challenge is trying to label this album as it is so many things at once. Dog Problems is a delightful pastiche of sounds and colors that evoke Queen, Joe Jackson, The Beatles, Tahiti 80, Crosby, Stills, and Nash, even a touch of Black Twig Pickers, and waves of Power Pop crunch. Listening is like having a crate of some of the best vinyl dumped on your head, it pulls from every direction but manages to weave together a series of songs that reflect a knack for tight compositions and even tighter playing.
The album opens quietly but quickly slips into “I’m Actual”, a breezy orchestral pop number replete with string flourishes and a swollen brass section where Nate Ruess slyly implores that “We take the next hour and talk about me”; fleshing out the track a lazy accordion riff playing off a clarinet lick that never fails to make me think of the The Quadratics. The track is a good example of the band’s compositional prowess as it is a dense arrangement that features shifting dynamics and voicings every couple of bars creating great swells of sound that roll and crash around the lead vocals.
“Time Bomb” is by far the most dynamic track on the album and my personal favorite. Opening with a blast of Freddie Mercury it soars into a sing-a-long (or shout-a-long, whichever works best for you) chorus that instantly has me acting a complete fool drawn in by the wiggling piano line and foot stomping hand clapping rhythm section. Many of the songs here do just that being driven by The Format’s blend of Chamber Pop and Power Pop with equal doses of tongue-in-cheek winks to the past–look for one to Counting Crows 1993 Mr. Jones, one of my least favorite songs ever but damn funny in this context. When they dip into more Pop territory such as “Oceans” or the anthemic ending to “If Work Permits” the band proves that they can strip things back and just layout hooks thus proving that the Atlantic is incredibly shortsighted.
Dog Problems is a captivating album and one that is easily vying for the top of my Best of 2006 list. You can listen to two tracks off the album over at MySpace or grab “Compromise” at their website. Whatever you do, sit up and take notice as this album shouldn’t be missed. You can snag it over at eMusic.
Thanks for reviewing this album. I just heard about this band today when their name was mentioned in an article about myspace and bands selling their mp3s through there soon. The Format was cited as a band with a lot of friends on there. The album samples on eMusic sounded interesting, but I wasn’t sure what to make of their sound. I’ll definitely give it a try!
[...] The Format – Dog Problems [...]