Despite the album title, South London reprobates Fat Dog are far from tired. At least, they sound full of raucous energy in the follow-up to WOOF. The seven-piece toured their debut until, by the keyboardist’s account, everyone had a “small breakdown of some sort.” Then the frontman, singer Joe Love, came home and went straight into the studio the next day.
The result is a ravier, more electro-punk and frenzied chaos than we heard on WOOF. Some of the synth lines are absolutely bonkers, as if pulled from a maelstrom of sweaty dancefloor drops from the 80s and 90s. “Bad Dog” is, for example, a cocaine induced rave. “Heart of Darkness” and “Snakes” are the only real reprieve on the album, one opting for that spaghetti cosmic country rock vibe the band seems to love. “Shit Love” is dance punk madness, while “Call It What You Want” is shimmery and toxic.
Love’s lyrics wander through addiction, family, love, artificial intelligence, ancestry and surreal pop-culture references, with side trips to aliens and the H&M. It’s the sound of a band that has seen a lot of stadium lights, a few hotel ceilings, and possibly something in the sky over Vegas. It’s much better as an album than WOOF.
