Marie Monday

That Dog. - Retreat From the Sun

I love That Dog, they're such a weird ****ing band. Niche baroque indie-punk-to-indie-pop that hits a sweet spot between dissonant and bubblegum. My greatest love among their records is Totally Crushed Out, which is earlier and punkier (you can scream along with He's Kissing Christian and pogo to Lip Gloss) but Retreat From The Sun is just as great, more polished but also more refined, and I discovered it later so I want to review this one.

I'm gonna see you has the usual beautiful vocal harmonies, but the guitars harmonise too. Also Anna Waronker's vocals are showcased in their full endearingness here. Somehow her singing always sounds like the vocal equivalent of candidly writing in a diary, in a completely natural way. Taylor Swift aint got nothing on this. Never say never has a killer riff but is otherwise one of the less interesting songs. Still a lot of fun though. Being With You starts with signature guitar work/harmonies. It appears to turn into something kind of bland, until the delicious chorus outburst happens. Then there's Gagged and Tied, which has got to be the most endearing song about sadomasochism. One of the many things I love about it is how the transitions in the music (chord changes etc.) fit the story being told so well, it's constructed and paced brilliantly. It all starts with the dissonant guitar tone, which works as an ominous prelude that is abruptly broken off for the sweet-sounding violin verse. Only towards the end does it suddenly get picked up again and resolved into the thrilling final repetition of 'would you loved me gagged and tied' (which then breaks into all those 'lalalalala's', another great move) like a subtle clue in a story that gets resolved later when you've forgotten about it. And then there's the great detail (which works both lyrically and musically) of that one repetition of 'don't treat me like a lady'. Violins scream in the background. The drums go wild. So does the crowd. (the crowd being me) Genuinely one of the most brilliant pop songs I know. Retreat From the Sun is just gorgeous. At some point it becomes basically a show-off exercise in harmonies that goes over the top, but who cares when the voices keep adding and weaving into each other so blissfully. Towards the end they get into a kind of canon for extra lushness. It's a good move to follow that harmonic excess by the more understated Minneapolis. Anna again in full Dear Diary-mode. The delivery of 'and they emBARassed me' absolutely nails it. I like the chords, and again the way the music follows the story so well, in particular the quiet/loud dynamic here. Annie is enjoyable but not a standout. The chord change from verse to chorus is an odd choice and doesn't really work for me, but I dig the heavy guitars. Every Time I Try is more meh. I want the screaming violin back. Long Island is a ****ing blast though. Clever use of the backing vocals (as usual), adding harmonies and accents at just the right moment. Hawthorne is another slow-ish one but it has the right amount of earnest cuteness to work. I can't really make out what on earth the lyrics of Did You Ever are about, but it sounds weird. Falling in love with small girls? Splitting yourself in two? Girl what. Anyway, the music rules, great use of the violin + bass, the combination with the off-beat vocal delivery gives it a lot of schwung. Then we get a random bit of fiddling? I'll take it. Cowboy Hat is languid and great. The closing track is a bit orchestral (which they apparently liked because they did that again on their latest album, with more emphasis and less success) but it works for me. I particularly like some of the harmonies here, and the hammery piano/violin.

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