This Philadelphia-based quintet have been together in one form or another for 15 years although I confess that their previous nine albums have not figured on my radar. LP number ten is their first for three years but doesn't entice me to rush to explore their back catalogue.
It's full of pleasant soft rock melodies but lacks any real spark or sense of urgency.
Co-frontman Scott McMicken, not surprisingly sees things differently; "we got to the deepest, most honest part of ourselves" he says in recounting a studio experience which was, by all accounts, a positive one.
Communicating those good vibrations to the wider world is where things start to fall apart. Of the title track he adds: "I can’t even really tell you what that song is about, but I can 100% stand behind that song in terms of how it makes me feel. Thanks for that insight!
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Even when singing about doubts and fears or urging the listener to Go Out Fighting the disconnect between the feisty lyrics and the uniformly sleepy grooves is constant.
Heart Killer opens promisingly with a jagged rock beat but then settles in to the same dull commercial pop rhythms. Conceivably, the whole album could be a grower but I have difficulty summoning any enthusiasm to test this out.
Dr. Dog's website
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