Dr. Dog - We All Belong Review

''We've got old news,'' sing this Philly band on their third CD, We All Belong. That's no lie. Their giddy lo-fi rock addresses good weekends, bad trips, and love-ache — hardly new topics — and evokes the Beatles (or Beatles solo projects) when not generally conjuring '70s AM radio with spangly guitars, sleigh bells, and shout-along harmonies. But like pals My Morning Jacket, Dr. Dog blend ''classic rock'' elements into woozy, idiosyncratic songs all their own. Even when blue, they sound like the happiest band in indie rock....full text The left-field success of Easy Beat meant that expectations were high for Dr. Dog's follow-up album, We All Belong. As a result, they probably could have brought in a big-name producer and booked time in a fancy studio. Fortunately, about the only thing that changed from one album to the other is a move from eight-track to 24-track recording. Yes, the songs are tightened up a bit and yes, some of the rougher edges have been smoothed out. They've also toned down the weirdness factor some (but not entirely). But these subtle changes do little to detract from the rough charm they've shown all along. It's clear that these guys think the feel of the take is more important than perfection, giving the album a loose feel throughout even though all the vocal harmonies and backing vox are spot-on (that's where all the extra tracks really pay off)....full text To call Dr. Dog Beatlesesque is completely legitimate, but also does the Philadelphia group an irrevocable disservice. Unlike other Beatles-y bands (think Oasis or Jet), Dr. Dog actually sound like the Beatles, which means that We All Belong is full of unusual instrumentation, fascinating harmonies and out-there arrangements, the likes of which are rarely heard outside of classic-rock radio....full text