The quintet indie band from Philadelphia returns with their new album, Be The Void. The band’s lineup consists of Toby Leaman (bass), Scott McMicken (lead guitar), Frank McElroy (rhythm guitar), Zach Miller (keyboard), and Eric Slick (drums). Be The Void is their second album release on a major (first being Shame Shame released on April 6th, 2010). The two recent albums seem to be more polished production. Their earlier albums resemble the 1990 indie bands with their lo-fi sounds and pop sensibilities. I’ve been listening to Dr. Dog for a couple years now and I wouldn’t say this album is a step backwards for the band … it is more of a step in every direction. This is for sure Dr. Dog with their fuzed out guitars and their well worked harmonies. If I were to choose my go to song from this album it would be “Vampire.” In “Vampire” it says, “You destroy all that is good here at your will/There is a part of me though that loves you still.” It is talking about that one partner will always love the other even though the other might have not been the best. At the end of the song they sing “You never think what you do really hurts/You are always giving me maybe, if I get something at all.” He just wants a straight up answer. He doesn’t want her to beat around the bush. She’s hurting him every time she doesn’t give him a reply. For all the years following the band it always seemed like if they were just a shy bit away from a masterpiece. Be The Void shows me that they might never make it to that masterpiece. But I do not have a problem with that. The weird ways they make their albums is what makes Dr. Dog ,Dr.Dog. If you’ve never heard of Dr. Dog before I would recommend listening to the albums Fate and Easy Beat before anything. If you’ve been following Dr. Dog for a while I would recommend this to you 100 percent. All together it is a great album that is filled with

the wonderful Dr. Dog aroma