The Golden Dogs – Coat Of Arms (Nevado Records)
This is a prime example of the crisp new music that seems to be the product of so many young bands these days. For an old geezer like me it’s a struggle to find the charm that other, younger folk obviously locate with ease (I mean The Klaxons - come on!), and on this occasion the band have worked so hard to get right. It all appears such a rush to me, and four tracks have passed before I have noticed that four tracks have passed. The fifth track (the second with Jessica Grassia on vocals), “Cheap Umbrellas” - this is where the album really started for me, with so much charm, as if the previous songs had purposely been stripped of all their appeal, so that this could shine so very brightly. It’s a classic indie track, the sort that leaps up the stairs and drags you out in the garden for a frolic… okay, I can only imagine that these days, but I bet the band’s peer group will be doing just that when they hear it… you know, just like you see in all those TV adverts!

Grassia, the one female in the group, almost pulls it off again with “Travel Time”, another classy number, along with “Permanent Record”, which has a swish of Karen O about it. The best of the rest are where she takes the lead, but nothing comes close to these three tracks… except for the closing “Old Hat”, which is indeed a turn-up for the books. At last the male singer / guitarist, Dave Azzolini, hits the spot. Now this is a gently spooky number at first, a good rhythm incessantly bringing the song to you, with Dave singing alone, as if tethered to the mike, this time with his voice reigned in. These are the best lyrics too, and as we reach three minutes, with the careworn voice disappearing, the backing takes off, builds up to a crescendo, and there is some great lead guitar (almost absent until now). Dave reappears at the end, a forlorn, jilted lover to repeat ‘I bought this hat when my head was smaller’.
www.myspace.com/thegoldendogs

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