BANDS:

Punk & Ska
80's New Wave/
Post-Punk/
College Bands
90's & Beyond
Virginia, North
Carolina, & DC

Tvfordogs: Heavy Denver

The Tvfordogs CD came at the perfect time. I had just checked my mail before driving around on some errands. I was desperately in need of something to listen to in my car previously I had been listening to the same CD (Im pretty sure it was Pauls Boutique by the Beastie Boys, but dont quote me on that) on repeat for at least a week. I opened the package, put the disc in my CD player and threw the rest of the stuff (paper sleeve with track listing and a band bio from the record company) in my briefcase (not really a briefcase in the traditional sense of the word since its made from durable fabric, has a convenient shoulder strap, and is actually designed to carry a laptop--even though I dont own a laptop... I digress...).

I liked it. It stayed in my cars CD player (which is also an MP3 player not relevant information, but I figured Id stick with what appears to be my ongoing theme of including useless information in parenthesis) for a week or two. Then I grew tired of it and switched to listening to something else. And thats the last time I remember seeing the disc.

Yeah, I lost it. Im an idiot.

So my editor sends me e-mails saying Hey, that Tvfordogs review is due soon (actually she writes tvordogs which at first I thought was a typo, but upon further investigation appears to be an honest mistake). Thats when I start to become a little concerned. Not concerned enough to actually look for the CD, but still concerned. So then the deadline starts creeping up. Im starting to get a little nervous at this point, so I actually look for the disc. I figure its got to be in the car, right? Nope. Not on the floor, on the seats, in the glove compartment, or in that little compartment where I put all my other CDs. I bet I put it in my briefcase (which is not actually a briefcase... oh, I said that already...). Nope. I check my house. My house is not that big, so it shouldnt be too hard to find, right? Well, I cant find the damn thing anywhere. Im screwed.

Luckily, I still have the paper sleeve with the track listing and the band bio from the record company. I read over the song titles. Some of them sound familiar, and I can remember pieces of lyrics. Some of them dont seem familiar at all. So I break down and read the band bio from the record company. Wait a minute, this band is from LONDON??? I review music for a site that specializes in mid-Atlantic (American) music, and Im losing sleep over a U.K. band? Not putting down London or anything, but just trying to understand the thought process behind them sending us this album. I mean whatll I be reviewing next? Music from Canada? (The punch-line here is that my reviews of some Canadian CDs will hit this site sometime in January.)

Heres what I remember (after all, I was extremely familiar with this CD at one point). The music was good, slickly-produced, alternative rock. The letter from the record company says it explores thrash punk, emo, post-grunge, and alternative pop. Actually, they go on for an entire paragraph describing Tvfordogs sound, which is kind of comical since you could just say its modern rock and everybody would know exactly what it sounds like without even listening to it...

Two things stand out in my mind about this album. First was that one songs intro is really cool a noisy instrumental bit with a sinister feel that reminded me of the Afghan Whigs circa Black Love or maybe even Gentleman. The second was that the singer sounds very much like Dave Grohl from the Foo Fighters. So much so that most of the time I spent listening to this CD I was actually thinking in the back of my mind, Hmmm... I wonder if the new Foo Fighters album is any good? There are maybe two songs where the singer doesnt sound like Dave Grohl very much. In those two songs he sounds an awful lot like Eddie Vedder.

I hope this CD turns up sometime. After all, I really did like it and would love to listen to it again. Plus Im starting to get tired of listening to White Pony in my car, and would enjoy a change of pace.

This album can be purchased atAmazon andCD Street

LEFT OFF THE DIAL's Tvfordogs page

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