El Dog make emotional post rock cinematic in scope, and The Lamps of Terrahead, their debut album, is a collection of twelve short films for your ears.
A Glasgow-based four-piece with a prodigious imagination equalled only by their musicianship, they formed in 2003 at Glasgow's legendary Nice & Sleazy open mic night. The sight of Bob (vocals/guitar) breakdancing onstage, naked except for a shoe, did little to put off Jim (bass), Calum (drums) and Alan (vocals/guitar) and so a beautiful friendship was formed, with musical alchemy soon to follow.
A Glasgow-based four-piece with a prodigious imagination equalled only by their musicianship, they formed in 2003 at Glasgow's legendary Nice & Sleazy open mic night. The sight of Bob (vocals/guitar) breakdancing onstage, naked except for a shoe, did little to put off Jim (bass), Calum (drums) and Alan (vocals/guitar) and so a beautiful friendship was formed, with musical alchemy soon to follow.
The intervening years have seen encouragement and offers of assistance from the likes of Chris Sheldon (Foo Fighters, Biffy Clyro), Geoff Allan (Ca Va Studios) and Calum Malcolm (The Blue Nile), with the band ultimately deciding to work with Iain Cook (Aereogramme) on the creation of ...Terrahead.
The band cites numerous films and computer games, as well as great albums, amongst their influences. Thus the dynamic tension and release strategies of songs such as "Rhythm Tooth" and "Monster's Final Hour" owe as much to Paddy Considine's "Dead Man's Shoes" and, fittingly enough, "Monster's Final Hour" on theAmstrad CPC 464, as they do to "Siamese Dream" and "Transatlanticism".
The album navigates an epic emotional range with a sureness of touch belying its status as a debut offering, from the explosive, heartfelt opener "If That Was The Last That We Met" to the tenderness of the instrumental passages in "Rebecca's Spine", from the dramatic twists and turns in the coda of "-00-" to the shimmering, heart-stopping beauty of the piano-led "Ha Ha Nae Joy".
All told, The Lamps of Terrahead is a sonic showreel to leave you longing for El Dog's next feature length release.
