Dogs Die In Hot Cars
It’s the (shameful?) nature of our time that bands will typically only get signed or notoriety in the early stages of the career if they have enough of a buzz to merit their placement amidst the roster of a record-label. Often irrespective of art, and gut-instinct, A&R-men responsible for the upkeep and continued stealth of a record-company seldom sniff where few of their competitors aren’t already lurking, for fear of a – goodness forbid – unpopular signing.
Wonder be, then, that the unconventional, ‘80s-flavoured jerky panache of Dogs Die In Hot Cars found its way into the hearts of even the industry’s most notorious chequebook-wavers in 2003. After years existing as sprightly teens making a racket up in Scotland, they’re even still to this day, bloody odd – outsiders looking in, and, as such, sounding like few others.
Drilling guitars, helplessly infectious refrains and buoyant themes and lyricism from frontman Craig Macintosh that genuinely puzzle, their debut-release was in ’03: ‘I Love You Cause I Have To’, unearthed on (predominantly) singles-label, Radiate. The reaction to the ska-pop minor thrashes was most favourable – press and radio salivated, the aforementioned A&R’s did their typical heavy breathing routine, the band bagged themselves a prestigious (well, we would say that) Basement Club slot alongside like-minded nutbars The Zutons, and V2 got lucky – snapping up the band for a contract.
Come a further EP – ‘Man Bites Man’, already sold-out of its limited pressing – and a first single proper, ‘Godhopping’, which graced 24 in the British charts, all that’s left now, save for ever-increasing sizes in venues and innumerable headline dates, is that debut-album: with us this summer, quite possibly the most apt time for their waltzing pop masterclass.
OFFICIAL SITE: Those cheeky urchins feature a tongue-in-cheek biog on their site, and a navigation-system that’s almost nauseating to view (gotta love Flash technology).
V2 MUSIC: See who the indie swines share a record-label home with. Don’t be put off by the fact Nickelback aren’t on there. Eww.