DOGS - Tall Stories From Under The Table Album Review

DOGS
Tall Stories From Under The Table
Album Review

After two years of solid touring promoting and playing their debut album, Dogs are back with their eagerly awaited second album. Tall Stories From Under The Table is the follow up from their debut album, and is an album that the London five-piece hope will show how far they have come as musicians since their debut album. Ironically though Dogs are to be supporting The Twang on their May/June tour. Ironic just ironic or is it just a sarcastic reviewer?

Is Paul Weller guest lead vocals on the new album from Dogs, or is it just the fact that Johnny sounds very similar that it is just uncanny? No of course it is Johnny and he offers a high energy to this album that you can't buy, the kind of stuff that you just want to bottle up just so you don't use it. Don't be fooled that it is only this guys who gives off the energy, because it is everything about this band that it is as if the band have clicked together for the first time and the adrenalin from that simple fact has carried on through, through their new exciting album.

It seems like we have stepped back to the Mods verses rockers age, but the battle is Dogs against themselves where both genres are just batting off each other and this is explained so much more in the shape of Dirty Little Shop. An amazing display guitar playing and drum rolling that is mixed together to make this perfect start to the album that is Tall Stories From Under The Table. It just seems that these guys are revitalised fresh and ready for action. The five from the southern areas of England have a distinctive style that the play and that is that, hopefully people will like what they do, but they won't loose any sleep over if you don't. This can be conceived as arrogance in fact it is just down to the simple fact that Dogs love what they are doing and that is what really matters. As well as doing up beat giving it there all tracks like Soldier On and This Stone Is A Bullet, Dogs can also do a somewhat more chilled out song in the shape of Chained To No One. Or that's what they lead you to believe because after two minutes into it, Dogs can't hold back no more and whack it all out again, and then calm again.

One good thing about this band is that they do try to and keep a high tempo and that is no different in the shape of Forget It Al and certainly with Little Pretenders, even Johnny is spiralling out the lyrics as quick as Mike Skinner is spitting out his rhymes. The great thing is that the guitars are still being blasted out to the point that the guy's fingers will bleed or the strings are about to break. These Days is filled with spiralling guitar chords, clever lyrics and it is at this point when you actually appreciate Johnny performance on lead vocals

Tall Stories From Under The Table is a record full of great tunes but you always find yourself back to comparing them to The Jam, both through the vocals and musically. The question is will this kind of comparison help Dogs or will it hinder them?


Mark Moore