众多TheBeatles的追随者虽然始终只能望其项背,但这支来自美国费城的五人独立乐队Dr.Dog却似乎真的参透了TheBeatles武林秘笈里的一招半式,成为美国摇滚界现今公认的把TheBeatles风格延续得最神似的乐队。
TheBeatles从上个世纪刚出道直到现在,都是流行音乐界历久不衰的研究课题,但至今谁也无法很清晰、全面地总结出他们令人疯狂着迷的魔力何在。众多TheBeatles的追随者虽然始终只能望其项背,但这支来自美国费城的五人独立乐队Dr.Dog却似乎真的参透了TheBeatles武林秘笈里的一招半式,成为美国摇滚界现今公认的把TheBeatles风格延续得最神似的乐队。
通常祖师级乐队的模仿者总是容易招致乐评的白眼,但是Dr.Dog去年推出的专辑《WeAllBelong》却受到了滚石杂志、Pitchfork等主流音乐媒体的一致好评。乐队成员五人相当留恋费城市郊的家乡,把录音室也建在了乡村木屋里。而他们的音乐,听起来也和现在大都会的流行音乐有点格格不入,却把听者带回上世纪60年代由TheBeatles建立的快乐单纯、无拘无束并且生气勃勃的“乐活”摇滚形态,Lo-Fi的氛围更加重了怀旧味道的渲染。
Dr.Dog早于1999年成立,《Fate》已经是他们推出的第五张专辑。不过他们从第三张专辑开始,才算真正捉住TheBeatles神髓———融洽的和声,尤其是歌曲高潮处伴随着铃鼓的活泼和声。吉他手McMicken和贝斯手Leaman这两位灵魂人物轮着主唱,他们的嗓子都很不错,而其他三位成员担当和声,曲风也是TheBeatles式的民谣摇滚+迷幻摇滚,配器清新而简单。滑弦吉他开篇的《TheBreeze》是全辑最出色的作品,高潮处多重层叠的和声营造出无法言喻的优美;《ArmyofAncients》那份颓废的蓝调忧郁也在和声中被衬托得格外感人肺腑;完全铺垫着和声的情歌《From》真挚动人得仿如TheBeatles灵光闪现。(Callas)
Philadelphia indie pop act Dr. Dog is part of a long tradition of D.I.Y. pop oddballs who blend unapologetic '60s pop worship with lo-fi recording techniques and a complete disregard of current trends. R. Stevie Moore's quirky eclecticism is one obvious touchstone, as is their love of the straightforward pop hooks and tape hiss of Guided by Voices, Pavement's willfully fractured song structures, and the playful experimentalism of the Olivia Tremor Control and the Apples in Stereo.Dr. Dog began as a part-time offshoot of the more traditional Philadelphia indie rockers Raccoon, whose guitarist Toby Leaman and drummer Scott McMicken recorded the casual, sprawling 35-track set The Psychedelic Swamp as a duo in a basement rehearsal space over the course of several years, finally self-releasing it in 2001. As Raccoon ended, McMicken and Leaman transformed Dr. Dog into a proper band, with McMicken on guitar and Leaman on bass (the two share songwriting and vocals), plus guitarist Doug O'Donnell, keyboard player Zach Miller, and drummer Juston Stens. This lineup recorded 2003's more focused and poppy Toothbrush, which like The Psychedelic Swamp received a low-key, self-distributed release.When My Morning Jacket's Jim James, a friend of Leaman and McMicken from their Raccoon days, hand-picked Dr. Dog to open for his band on an East Coast tour supporting their first major-label album, It Still Moves, the band's almost nonexistent national profile began to rise. With O'Donnell replaced by former Raccoon bassist Andrew Jones and featuring Broken Social Scene-style guest spots from various Philadelphia friends, 2005's Easy Beat was picked up for distribution by the indie label National Parking. Following its release, the band toured again with My Morning Jacket and M. Ward and performed several well-received sets during the 2006 South by Southwest Festival in Austin. The stopgap EP Takers and Leavers was released in September 2006 in advance of We All Belong, which arrived in early 2007.