EMERGE (2012)

Considering that this release is the first studio album from New York City based ‘Dog Society’ in twenty years has this reviewer impressed. Back in 1993 they released their first album, ‘Test Your Own Eyes’ to positive reviews. The band then began to tour extensively and open for acts like Stone Temple Pilots and Sheryl Crow.

On this, their second release, the recording has dynamics and is not squashed for maximum volume. I like that. The mix is excellent. The sounds are organic, almost as if you were sitting in the room with them while they play. The vocals and harmonies are clean and tight. Lead vocalist Brian Schnaak’s voice is distinctive and at times reminds me of John Lennon.

Bruce Erik Brauer and Glen Sherman’s guitars are natural sounding, with a nice mix of electric overdrive and acoustic. They have that nice organic (there’s that word again) amp overdrive sound. Rich Guerzon’s Bass keeps the whole thing grounded, he’s not too busy and puts out nice little fills at just the right time. Drummer Joe Ranieri obviously enjoys his work. The very first thing I noticed about the music was how well the drums fit into the mix, and how tasty the parts were.

What songs did I really really like? Well boys and girls, Daymare is a weirdly skewed, melancholy sort of a ballad. The lyrics are great. It’s a really nice song with tasty chord changes, and a lovely but far too short guitar solo. I really like the way Pink Sun changes almost into a totally different song for the guitar solo. And the effect used on the guitar on that solo blows my mind. (I want one!) And if Daymare wasn’t deliciously strange enough for you, there is my favorite, Spaceboots. I won’t spoil it for you.

What did I like most about Dog Society? Mmm, everything! Seriously.

What did I like least? The fact that I’ve never heard them before now.

You can learn more about Dog Society by visiting these links:

http://dogsociety.tv/

http://dogsociety.bandcamp.com/music

https://www.facebook.com/DogSocietyNY