Plankton: Shiny New Antiques - the dog and the tremor control

It’s coursing through my body, and streaming through my bones. Today, there is no school like the old-school. Today, my human friends, I listen to Dr. Dog.

- they say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. But you can teach a new dog old tricks, as demonstrated by Dr. Dog, a very new dog with reassuringly old tricks.

MP3: ‘The Ark’ - Dr. Dog
MP3: ‘From’ - Dr. Dog

In some circles they’d be put in the stocks for the shame of thievery (notable victims include The Beatles, Pink Floyd, The Band), but I would rather stand back and admire their immense songcraft. It’s so good, in fact, I’m almost tempted to use dangerous music reviewer words like arcane and redolence - but to kill any brooding pretense, let me just say that this is great music, and while we could shine many a bright, decorative light upon it, somehow it’s just not appropriate for something as lovingly whole as this. Fate, their latest record, somehow sounds better every time I take it for a spin - and it’s a relentless march that shows little sign of letting up.

Equally reminiscent of the old guard, but perhaps a more fitting suitor to the pretension, this week I’ve been rather buzzed to discover The Olivia Tremor Control of Elephant 6 fame. Their third full-length, Black Foliage: Animation Music Volume 1 is an irresistible psych-pop collage, destructively arranged and yet still strangely cohesive. It’s the fine details that make this record - there’s an infinite universe of great minutiae hidden in every track - coupled with the perilously frantic sequencing (you get the feeling Black Foliage could violently derail at any moment, even if it never does). In concept it threatens to be all substance, no style, but beyond the frippery and the fuzz, The Olivia Tremor Control know how to write striking, nostalgic pop. Throw in a surprise Jeff Mangum cameo - this is Elephant 6 after all - and what more could you ask for?

MP3: ‘A Sleepy Company’ - The Olivia Tremor Control
MP3: ‘I Have Been Floated’ - The Olivia Tremor Control

The Olivia Tremor Control reformed earlier this year (it’s been a decade since Black Foliage) and new material is currently in the works.

Dr. Dog: buy or Spotify
The Olivia Tremor Control: buy or Spotify

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