Live: Dog Is Dead @ Sound Control

Dog Is Dead
Sound Control
9^th November
1 and a half stars

In recent years, we’ve seen the likes of Everything Everything and Bombay Bicycle Club- art-rock bands that rely on wiry guitars and distinctive vocals- make it big. Hoping to do the same this year are Nottingham 5-piece Dog Is Dead, who played at Sound Control to a noticeably young crowd, half of which looked like they should probably have been in bed by this time on a school night.

In a less than full venue, and after a fairly average support slot from To Kill a King, Dog Is Dead took to what could only be described as the back corner of the room rather than a stage, rifling through countless generic indie pop songs from their various EPs. Each song, unfortunately, blurred into one, the bands vocal harmonies and rousing choruses instantly forgettable and nothing that you’ve not heard done better a dozen times before. Despite this the crowd were still very responsive, singles ‘Glockenspiel Song’ and ‘Hands Down’ going down well amongst the overly excited teens. The reason for the youthfulness of the audience was then made painfully clear with the song ‘Young,’ which featured on the soundtrack of the latest series of the now stale teen drama, Skins.

The rest of the Dog Is Dead set was made up of more of the same, a bland mixture of synths, choppy guitar riffs and at times incredibly annoying high-pitched vocals. Coming across as a poor man’s Bombay Bicycle Club, Dog Is Dead certainly were a disappointment, and you get the feeling that with the sheer amount of similar artists out there at the moment, they’re maybe just a few years too late.

Dog Is Dead – Young

Dog Is Dead – Hands Down