Half Eaten By Dogs - The Serfs

 

New album by thrilling Ohio trio via Trouble in Mind Records

In a world where pristine pop rules the mainstream - think Harry and Taylor - the trio from Cincinnati, Ohio of Dylan McCartney (vocals, guitar, bass), Dakota Carlyle (electronica, bass) and Andie Luman (vocals, synth), have curated a musical maelstrom of sound and wonder that is both thrilling to listen to and difficult to pigeon hole.

From the album opener, 'Order Imposing Sentence', this is a long player that is distinctive in tone and is happy to wear a multitude of influences on its sleeve from Depeche Mode in the post-Vince Clarke days before the stratospheric late 1980s run they enjoyed to that of Suicide. Its more like surf rock but howling at the moon as they ride the crest of the wave.

'Spectral Analysis' samples Air's 'Sexy Boy' as if it is a transmission from a by-gone era or another dimension and yet there is a thrust and drive to the album that should be applauded. This trio is sticking to its guns and shooting for the moon.

'Electric Like An Eel' has this pounding sound that is unrelenting and yet is infectious and bouncy; it is this constant contradiction and juxtaposition of genres taking place that is seemingly unsettling to a listener but also keeps them on their toes, unsurprisingly this was a single release of the album.

This refreshing album is great to hear and reminded this listener of new sounds discovered such as FACS and Activity - that unnerving distortive sonic soundscapes being created.

It does strike me that this is a band who are on the cusp of bigger and better things to come, and while this album is their third album it smacks of maturity and a keen sense of what direction they want to be going in. 

The simplest way to state this album is that it is electronica just not as you know it infused with punk goodness and thrashing guitars.

Half Eaten by Dogs is out on Friday 27th October via Trouble in Mind Records

My thanks to One Beat PR for the review opportunity.