B-Room (Deluxe Edition)

Dr. Dog started as a side project of Scott McMicken and Toby Leaman; they made a rich blend of lo-fi ravers, honest songs, and densely woven pop tapestries with odd bits of sonic detail. That continues on Dr. Dog’s eighth album, yet B-Room was done in the band’s new studio with all the members sitting in a room playing and writing. These road dogs have never had a problem spending time together (they even built out the studio themselves), and this album captures that camaraderie. Dr. Dog was having fun screwing around on the dark and spooky “Twilight,” but the band also really bore down on the spine-chilling and soulful opener, “The Truth,” and “Broken Heart,” which sounds like Low-era David Bowie. The transitions are a little rough when one stretch goes from the country rave-up “Phenominon” to the deeply moving solo acoustic guitar and voice of “Too Weak to Ramble” to the aggressively psychedelic “Long Way Down.” But no matter the project, this band always strives to keep its fans (and itself) on their toes.