The end result of frivolity is always negative in the movies and fables.  It’s unfortunate, really.  It’s almost as if an early lifetime of fun is a predestined journey: years of good times with a tragic fall from grace.  I’m planning my fall from grace for 2017, if you must know.  I’m actually pretty excited. Much more excited than I was before I heard this record.

See, I had assumed that Dr. Dog had begun their fall from grace long ago.  I also assumed I was going to dislike this album.  Thus, I again learn that assumptions are for suckers.  Shame, Shame is a fun ride through a series of influential sounds of the 60s and 70s with hints of originality sprinkled into it.  Marginal and terrifically recorded are often not complimentary to each other, but Dr. Dog is no ordinary band, apparently.

An ordinary band would have exhausted this sound long ago and fallen in love with the image side of rock records.  Isn’t that what undid so many good bands? The idea that they were bigger than music; bigger than their previous ideals?  It’s either that or exhaust their ideas in one, maybe one-and-a-half records.  Dr. Dog has proven they are not out of ideas and willing to continue writing solid songs that are neither over-the-top/aggrandized or overtly keen on anything but their own multi-faceted abilities.  Often, the explosion of instruments is enough to overpower awkwardly simple lyrics and well-tread song material.

In fact, they prove an old theory: it doesn’t matter how simple something is when made, so long as it is made passionately.  For awhile, I thought Dr. Dog had lost that quality.  Now, I realize I actually might have.  I never would have given this a shot if not for writing for this site, and now I have more good music to hang out with while hungover for it.  I can’t ask for much more than that. I get the feeling after hearing Shame, Shame Dr. Dog would have it no other way.

Editor’s note: First Listen is a new feature on the site, allowing you a little more insight on how we regard our criticism.  Hopefully, it will enlighten. Or just make it look like we have a lot going on. All artwork and commentary is subject to change as the albums premiere or the labels/bands tweak the albums.  Feel free to bash the idea via the comments or on twitter (@10listens).

Shame, Shame is the sixth album for Philadelphia’s Dr. Dog.  Their lo-fi sound mixed with jammy psychedelia has been, in my opinion, either highly entertaining (the album We all Belong is one of the best albums of the past decade) or fantastically boring (Fate followed We All Belong and was a major disappointment). This is their Anti-Records debut.

I’ve been less than excited to hear the album, to be perfectly honest, since I thought Fate was such a letdown.  It’s been sitting on a pile of CDs, unmolested, for around a month and I finally got around to it after being bored to death with other possible reviews. It’s a sad way to discover what has impressed me so greatly.  Shame, Shame, on the initial listen, is a return to form– a polished version of the lo-fi sound that captivated me three years ago.

Honestly, I’m itching to listen more and have the album’s lyrics and 60s-esque backup vocals wash over me more and more.  The tail end of the album needs especially close attention as the songs lengthen and strengthen.  Dr. Dog has, thus far, not disappointed, and that is a major relief.  Problematically, the album’s release date is targeted for April, so it may be awhile before any of us get to enjoy this together.