day 37, Dr. Dog - Easy Beat

Stars: 2.75
Song: “Oh No”
Show: 20$

The friend who suggested this one was talking to me the day before about how much he loved Shame, Shame Dr. Dog’s new release from this past April. Not putting it all together, I then assumed that Easy Beat was this beloved follow-up to 2007’s Fate, and I had just remembered the title incorrectly. I got through 5 listens and half of a review before I realized my mistake. Easy Beat came out in 2005. Typically before I get going on a review, I check the discography to put the album in context, but in order to keep the review fresh, I try to keep myself from gathering to much more about the band, its history, and what critics think. In this instance, that tiny bit of research flipped Easy Beat on its head.

Even though I made a false, idiotic assumption, it actually brought some interesting insight to the way I process music. Thinking that Easy Beat was the highly acclaimed, Brooklyn adored, new hip and hot shit, I thought that I must be an alien, unable to vibe with my age group and social peers. I considered giving up on being a music writer (again) resigning to the fact that I will just never get it. I thought: “How could a band that was so polished and intricate on the verge of becoming the next big indie super-group just throw it all down the drain with a half-assed, “couldda done it better myself,” short on time, un-produced, un-edited, un-cared for, piece of doo-doo?” In fact, here is some of what I had down before I opened up Wikipedia:
“Stars: 2.5 (tops)

Favorite Song: “On No,” (even though it is actually two mini-songs, randomly and harshly cut in the middle, they happen to both be my favorites)

Since Fate, released in 2007, Dr. Dog has been receiving public and critical acclaim that has awarded them more money and time in the studio. Clearly, they blew most of that studio money on beers and breakfast during the making of Easy Beat, which is barely demo quality.”

So I had to start over. My initial reaction was to apologize to them directly: “I am sorry, I had no idea you were so much younger. It was five years ago, and that’s a long time!” So I changed it to 3.25 stars, took out the snide parenthetical statements and wrote:
“Dr. Dog has come a long way since Easy Beat, but the album shows how they became the ‘modern-day Beatles.’ The layered harmonies over rock and roll rhythms that you, me, and critics have fallen in love with since 2007’s Fate is stripped down to it’s roots and bare essentials here. ”

But I stopped again. Not because I was enlightened once more with mind-blowing new information, but because I realized that what I was writing was a load of crap. Of course it is important to do your homework, but is context really enough to change my entire opinion of the album? It is the same music. Yes, it is true, Easy Beat does expose Dr. Dog’s roots, but does that make it a better album? It is still the same noise.

So I reached a conclusion, and in fact, a self assuring one. It is undeniable that everything affects the way we judge music, whether it be the person who suggested it to you, how you were feeling that day, the association you have with the group before you actually heard them, etc. So then, it is least corrupt to review music with as little knowledge associated to the album as possible. (However, this does not produce the most thorough, backed-up, and analytical review.) This is self affirming because that is primarily what I set out to do when I began this project: to write honestly, quickly and as uninformed as possible so that the only factors that influence the review are what I already know, what I am doing/feeling at the time, and most importantly, what I am hearing.

So what about Easy Beat? It has that stripped down, raw, played in a basement, rock and roll sound which is pretty endearing, but also a little unexciting. It’s got some good tracks, such as “The World May Never Know,” “Oh No (part I and II),” and “Wake Up,” but the majority of it sounds thin and thrown together. The wheels on this guy are wobbly, and it almost doesn’t make the trip, but luckily the album is an unbelievable short 37 minute ride. “Oh No,” has that early 60’s pop thing going on which is what has made Dr. Dog so famous, but most of the other tracks just come off garagey and undisciplined.

Ignore the stupid puppet, but the song should be the same: