Dr. Dog: Fate

Dr. Dog is in my opinion one of the coolest and most creative bands in indie rock. If there is a band today that sounds anything like The Beatles, then it's Dr. Dog. Their light piano, catchy vocal harmonies, and imaginative lyrics makes them have one of the freshest sounds in alternative music. 

With that being said, I found their new album Fate to be fairly disappointing. Not that the album is bad, it's actually pretty decent, but the band brings nothing new to the table. 

"Breeze" starts the album and sounds like your typical Dr. Dog song. The song has a nice melodic sound but doesn't really get the album started. The album starts to move with the second track "Hang On," the song is catchy and is their respected radio hit, but again it seems like they have written this song before.

"The Old Days" is the first highlight of Fate. The piano playing arpeggios gives the song sort of a classical feel, accompanied by guitar and ragtime drums, the song has a distinctive sound. 

After a few decent but forgettable songs, the album hits again with "The Ark."  With a gloomy guitar and inventive lyrics about failure, insecurity, and "Ooh, What does it mean to be here?" this is the coolest song on the disc.

Two other worthy tracks are "From" which sounds like a modern day version of "Here, There and Everywhere." And "Uncovering The Old" which cleverly incorporates a string section, which corresponds well with Dr. Dog's always poppy sound.

B-