I’m not going to be the first to have noticed that same slightly world-weary, slightly detached vocal vibe that helped define the Pixies unique sound. And there is certainly no shortage of late-80’s/early 90’s, alt-rock/college rock influences found here, not least in the song’s everyday and unexpected theme of musing about whether to take a stray dog into your home.
But “Just a Dog” isn’t an exercise in nostalgia, more a picking up of the creative torch, the writing of a new chapter for an already established genre, a continuation of an already compelling sonic story. And it is this ability to blend the fresh with the familiar that makes this song so attractive, so addictive. For every recognisable slice of comfort zoning, there is an equal amount of forward-facing adventure.
And given that I have suggested that there is a nod to rawer, alt-rock sounds, “Just a Dog” is a surprisingly deft and dexterous affair. The guitar lines are spacious and shapely, the basslines melodic, the drums unfussy, and brilliantly so, wandering between straight-out rock and roll energies and a dancy, disco-infused use of the high hat. Their source material might often rely on volume and velocity, but Das Sporten is cleverer than that. They happily trade some of the muscle for melody, the grit for groove.
This is my first taste of Das Sporten, but given their ability to sound a bit like a whole section of my record collection whilst not sounding like any one band in particular, and to step into a bright new future whilst acknowledging the cyclical nature of sonic fashion, I’d say this certainly won’t be my last.
