Dog is Dead OX4 Festival @ The O2 Academy, Oxford 9/10/10
4/5
By: Liane Escorza
Dog is Dead come from Nottingham and make playful music, full of angelic vocal harmonies, chirpy glockenspiels, sensual saxophones and toy drum-like beats. They sound like cousins of Vampire Weekend, best friends of Local Natives and brothers of Oxford’s own Jonquil.
But though their live performance is clean-cut, precise and shiny, it’s astonishingly experimental around the edges. Both natural in their work and obvious perfectionists, this is a band that engages with their audience as much as they do with their studio output. There’s no difference in quality between the two, something that’s such a breath of fresh air considering the ever present flurry of Oxford’s DIY garage bands, a clan seemingly unconcerned with precision at all. Dog Is Dead are proof that one can create a crystal clear, straight forward product through hard work and constant practice without jeopardising spontaneity or quirkiness.
‘Glockenspiel Song’ is in places frighteningly similar to the aforementioned Local Natives’ ‘World News’, yet their arrangements and sonic turnarounds are slightly less predictable, and the overall atmosphere is just more aggressive both musically and lyrically. The highlight of their set is new single ‘Young’, with its tickling piano and melodic bridges leading towards an expanding, explosive and choppy chorus, whilst ‘The Zoo’ brings with it a knowledge of 90s grunge and the Mystery Jets’ more straightforward moments. A couple of slightly more defined tracks should see them break the mainstream ice – we predict nothing but glory for there on in.
Artists in this article: Dog Is Dead
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