People have a lot of good things to say about the bombastic live show put on by Austin's A Giant Dog, and for good reason, so obviously attending tomorrow night's show at O'Brien's in Allston Rock City is the best idea you've had in a while. Fewer people (it feels like) seem to be talking about the garagey quintet's flagrantly fun new long-player Pile, released May 6 on Merge, and that warrants redress. A Giant Dog's greatest strength -- it's magic, in a sense, because we're not sure how they do it -- is that it makes all the trite tropes of rock and roll feel fun again. It did so on its similarly monosyllabic 2013 debut Bone, and it does so again -- with apparent ease -- on the new platter. Big hooks like those spangling the tune "Sex & Drugs" certainly help, as does the winking, but not cutesy, self-awareness in fronter Sabrina Ellis' lyrics. The latter gives the songs greater dimension than one might expect on paper. Better still, the new songs are unrelenting and anthemic. Tales of excess set to fuzzy guitars, popping rhythms and pounding piano are the order of the day, and there's just enough weirdness -- like, how do they make that constantly stumbling snare cadence work within the big-swinging rhythm of "& Rock & Roll" -- to give Pile a singular sound even as the band figuratively wraps its collective arms around glam, punk and garage signifiers and draws them close for a big, sweaty hug.
While the touring top-liners are certainly noteworthy, the slate of supporting acts is nothing to sneeze at (what the fuck does that even mean?). Fuzz-blasting now-band Black Beaches, punk mainstays Zip-Tie Handcuffs and power-pop purveyors The Dazies lead the charge, perhaps even in that order, and we suggest arriving early, staying late, hoovering the Uber, videoing the whole thing with your video cassette recorder on the Super Long Play setting, or whatever it is that the kids do these days. The A Giant Dog juggernaut rolls through the American Southeast through June 3, and the band also has additional festival dates on the books; the full list of shows of which we are aware is below. Below that, make sure to hit the embeds to hear the delicious rock sounds of all four bands performing tomorrow night. Longtime readers will recall we spoke to A Giant Dog back in 2013 for our stop-and-go Show Us Yours feature about band practice spaces. Check the band out in episode 14 right here.
05.26 -- New York, NY –- Cake Shop
05.27 -- Brooklyn, NY –- Our Wicked Lady
05.29 -- Richmond, VA –- Strange Matter
05.31 -- Chapel Hill, NC -– Local 506
06.01 -- Atlanta, GA –- The Earl
06.02 -- Nashville, TN -– Queen Ave
06.03 -- Memphis, TN –- Hi Tone
06.11 -- New Braunfels, TX -– Dia De Los Toadies
07.09 -- Columbus, OH –- 4th & 4th Fest
09.08 -- Raleigh, NC –- Hopscotch Music Festival
A Giant Dog: Bandcamp | Faceblorp
Black Beach: Bandcamp | Faceblorp
Zip-Tie Handcuffs: Bandcamp | Faceblorp
The Dazies: Bandcamp | Faceblorp
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