Cross Dog is a noisy, experimental, bass-driven hardcore punk band from Peterborough, Ontario. Their music is played at ear-splitting volumes, but the band’s socially conscious messaging cuts through the noise loud and clear. Formed in 2013, the intentional omission of a guitarist from the lineup leaves Cross Dog lacking absolutely nothing. Affirming the power in the rule of three, Tracy A (vocals), Mark Rand (bass), and Mikey Reid (drums) explode with a multiplicative force that betrays the finite bounds of their instrumental limitations. 

Their new album (and first for Stomp Records), All Hard Feelings, was recorded at High Wattage Cottage, produced and engineered by Scott Middleton (ex-Cancer Bats), and features guest appearances by The Anti-Queens. All Hard Feelings is as sonically relentless as it is thoughtful. It has its feet firmly planted in hardcore punk rock, but doesn’t shy away from varied influences of noise rock, heavy metal, and rock and roll. Maintaining the sonic onslaught they’ve become known for, but with a few tweaks, bassist Mark Rand assures, “we enjoy being a chaotic and noisy band, but it’s hard not to love a good hook. We made the conscious decision to focus a little more on choruses and memorable parts, but we certainly haven’t become a pop band.” 

Aptly titled, the album’s lyrics journey from the public to the personal, confronting the sociological, psychological, and emotional challenges that many of us face in this life, yet do so in a way that somehow feels simultaneously universal and deeply individual. Vocalist Tracy A elaborates, “the lyrics have always been a critical component of our songwriting, but this record is definitely the most personal for me. I wanted, and needed, to connect with our audience on more than just our shared values, but on shared and difficult emotional experiences, too.” 

Tracy A opens up further, about “Enemy,” which was “written during a dark period, but as someone who is always irritatingly optimistic (evidently, even in the throes of depression), I am forever reminding myself that things will get better. Anyone who has suffered from depression knows how hard it is to be in the liminal space of apathy — the compounding heartbreak of the things you love failing to bring you joy, and feeling powerless against it. Even on my worst days, there is something in me that simply loves being alive — a tiny little spark or reminder is sometimes all that we need to put one foot in front of the other until suddenly, we’re standing somewhere entirely different. Everything changes; and that includes the hard shit (or the hard feelings, as it were). This song is about finding the resolve to just stay alive, one minute at a time, until things inevitably change.”