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The Hangdogs | Beware of Dog

Mature roots rock at its very finest. Woof!
CD, Shanachie/Munich

Tekst: Doug Waterman

Publicatiedatum: 14 februari 2001

If you're thinking that Americana music is only bred south of the Mason-Dixon line, you're dead wrong. Straight out of the Big Apple, the Hangdogs' second release 'Beware of Dog' captures the finer points of this genre with an invigorating performance aura and a mature display of songwriting.
Slightly more rock'n'roll-oriented than their first album 'East of Yesterday', 'Beware of Dog' covers a broad range of musical styles which are penetrated by lead singer 'Banger' Grimm's nasal-twang vocals. The album cranks up with its first track 'The Gun Song', a cowpunk rant about the inevitable revenge of a victim of spousal abuse. The Dogs tone down with two slower love tunes, 'Angelita Turns' and 'Somewhere Near Heaven', asserting a distinctive Tex-Mex flavour through melodic accordion drones and simple acoustic guitar progressions. In 'Waltz This Waltz Alone' we get the feeling of an old-school Merle Haggard barroom drinking song. "Love in here [the bar] don't last forever, but it might until four," moans Grimm over the high and lonesome whine of the steel guitar. The Hangdogs kick it back up a notch with two gutty honky-tonk tracks, 'Meet Me at Tommy's' and the album's title song 'Beware of Dog'. Traces of musical contemporaries such as the Bottle Rockets and the Backsliders cannot be avoided in these two compelling country jams.
'Beware of Dog' would not be complete without a bit of politics pervading the air. American class struggle and inequalities, as well as governmental negligence toward the common citizen seem to be themes that run bitterly throughout a few songs on the album, including 'The World is Yours' and 'Out There'. The band responds to an historic post-World War I incident in 'Anacostia', where a group of protesting veterans were turned upon by the US Government, who ultimately set fire to their campsite along the Potomac River.
This new release from the Hangdogs is a highly commendable collection of mature roots rock and Americana music. It represents the best elements of this progressive, rapidly expanding genre of music. Do yourself a good deed, and invest in the dog pound.

http://www.kindamuzik.net/recensie/the-hangdogs/beware-of-dog/104/
Meer The Hangdogs op KindaMuzik: http://www.kindamuzik.net/artiest/the-hangdogs