Based out of Halifax and featuring members of the Burdocks,
Dog Day has a tight, loud and energetic vibe going on during the short but terribly sweet "Lydia" which sounds like a perfect melding of
Placebo and
the Velvet Underground. Singer Seth Smith has a great voice for these angular, urgent rock tunes, especially on "End of the World" that would fit just as well on an album by
the Smiths as it would Forward Russia. And the album seems to get better with each song, with "Oh Dead Life" sparkling as if it was to be included on a tribute album to
the Cure. This blueprint is revisited again on the crisply delivered "Sleeping, Waiting." Even when
Dog Day slows things down with the lighter, dance-rock, synth-tinged ditty "Know Who You Are" it still easily shines. Another highlight is "Vow" which seems to hit another gear while being framed around the work of Nancy Urich and drummer Casey Spidle. Perhaps the biggest disappointment might be "Gayhorse" that doesn't quite live up to expectations. It's also the most experimental effort on the record. Thankfully, it's the exception to the rule as
Dog Day return to form during the hook-filled title track. The album also doesn't simply mail in the closing tracks either, with "Great Pains" taking great pains to drive that point home. ~ Jason MacNeil