Ann Arbor and Detroit weren’t the only cities in Michigan that spawned high-octane Midwestern hard rock & roll. Lansing spewed out its own prodigal sons (and daughter) with the Dogs, a power trio that, like their fellow travelers, slapped a preview of punk rock in the face of America. Singer/guitarist Loren Molinare, bassist Mary Kay Dodson, and various drummers bashed it out across the country for twenty-plus years, setting up shop in Detroit and New York before landing in L.A., putting out a few singles, serving a short stint under the name Attack, and gigging with AC/DC, Kiss, the Ramones, and Van Halen, and splitting up in 1989. Years after they inspired similar loud/fast/loud combos, the trio reconvened in the new millennium and finally released a pair of full-length albums before slipping into part-time status.
Unleashed takes tracks from those two albums, plus singles and spares, and puts them all in one place for easy access. Recorded with just enough fidelity to sound solid and punchy, songs like “Ain’t Going Nowhere” (guest-starring the Street Walkin’ Cheetahs’ Frank Meyer), “I’m Alive,” and “GST 483” bespeak the usual subjects of being young, loud, and snotty (even if “young” in this case means under 70), powered by a relentless rhythm section and Molinare’s pounding axe and gritty blare. A cheeky sense of humor gives the ostensibly nostalgic “Class of 70,” the live “Sleaze City,” and the gleefully silly “Intergalactic Slut” (“You can’t get away from the intergalactic slut!”) the sense that the Dogs aren’t afraid to smile from time to time. And, of course, they get broadly political – cf. “Not Working For the CIA” and “Welcome to the Revolution.” The band really nods to their roots with “John Rock & Roll Sinclair,” big-upping the MC5’s mentor at high volume. Tunes like “Let’s Go Baby” sound less like proto-punk than straight-up punk, but determining paternity is less important than rocking out, so forget the legacy and just enjoy Unleashed as a healthy bucket of good ol’ rock & roll.
Clearly a one-man rock & roll diehard, Molinare has kept busy outside of the Dogs, serving as guitarist in long-running L.A. rock band Little Caesar, playing in the ludicrously named but legitimately rocking Slamdinistas, and joining the surprisingly successful (musically, at least) revival of the Cruzados. So it’s no surprise to find him and current Cruzados and Dogs drummer Rob Klonel jamming alongside Cruzados bassist/songwriter Tony Marsico in the latter’s side band the Ugly Thingz. Sidestepping the rootsy rock & roll on No Future,, Marsico uses the Thingz to exercise his jangle pop jones, writing wonderfully catchy power poppers like “Jamie Runs Hot,” “Burning Questions,” and “Little By Litltle.” Marsico fleshes the album out with all five songs from last year’s super Sleepwalker EP, making No Future a delight from start to finish.
