CD of The Week

Dr. Dog - Be The Void (Anti-)

Dr. Dog is officially the biggest band in Philadelphia right now (with all due respect to The Roots and their late night TV gig). The group, founded by co-frontmen Scott McMicken and Toby Leaman, has seen their profile steadily rise from local buzz band to a headliner all over the country. Our own Y-Not Radio listeners voted Be The Void as their most-anticipated new album of 2012.

The Dr. Dog lineup has shifted over the years and Be The Void is the first with multi-instrumentalist Dmitri Manos and Eric Slick behind the drums. Slick, a mainstay of the local scene and a veteran of multiple Y-Not Philly appearances, joined the band a few years back but this is his first appearance on a Dr. Dog album.

Be The Void sounds like nothing more than Dr. Dog being themselves. If you know and love the group’s mix of shaggy rock and Beatles/Beach Boys harmonies, you’ll love Be The Void. The guitars are cranked up a bit more on tracks like the jammy “Warrior Man” and driving “These Days.” Lead single “That Old Black Hole,” with its funky bassline, ranks up there with some of the very best Dr. Dog tunes. “How Long Must I Wait” gives a shoutout to their home turf of Baltimore Ave. in West Philly (which was referenced on 2010’s “Shadow People” from Shame, Shame). “Do The Trick” is perhaps the centerpiece of the album, with another great bassline and its climbing, background harmonies.

Be The Void is the latest chapter in one of Philadelphia’s best musical success stories of the past decade. Dr. Dog is a great ambassador for the Philly scene to the larger musical world but they’ll be back for two homecoming shows at the Electric Factory on March 24th and 25th.
Review by Joey O.