Readers of Ave Noctum, I believe the year of production for this long lost album is in fact 1970, and to put it in context the “policing action” raging in Vietnam and South East Asia is grabbing headlines in the West. In 1969 Creedence Clearwater Revival let the world know their opinion of the conflict with ‘Fortunate Son’, but pretty much nobody has the chance to develop an informed opinion, the USA filling the airwaves with jingoistic puff pieces, and the Soviet Union having pulled its Iron Curtain tightly shut and any unsanctioned communication is by snatched phone calls and smuggled hand written letters. From this all too recent for some, but nearly impossible to imagine to the vast majority of currently extant humanity (3.6 billion people were alive in 1970, over 8 billion in 2024) year, Lee Dorian’s superb ‘Rise Above Relics’ has plucked a long since vaulted slice of timeless hard rock, transcribing a worn out 8 track cassette from White Dog into the soon to be available CD and LP ‘Double Dog Dare’.
Hang on a moment! My aged and time fogged memory has just decided to fire up one of its few remaining scrumpy soaked neurons to remind me that this is not something from Rise Above’s “Relic” imprint, and it was only 2020 that I reviewed the first release by this very Austin Texas act White Dog, and this is their follow up, or “sophomore” album f you will. Why the hell did the brain of this child of the sixties (yes, the writers for Ave Noctum cross many generational boundaries dear reader!) think that ‘Double Dog Dare’ was an unearthed blast from the past rather than a new band? Well, indulge me, and I’ll let you know. Opener ‘Holy Smokes’ opens this slab of retro goodness with a Hammond organ infused slice of Sixties stoner magic, the laid back minimalistic production transporting this hard rock banger half a century back in time on a soft yet dense cloud of THC infused vapours via the insistent harmonies of Tamla Motown. This blast from the past fades out into title track ‘Double Dog Dare’, and the band displays their era spanning credentials with a number that injects the occult sound of Black Widow into the Southern Rock swagger of Lynyrd Skynyrd.
‘F.D.I.C.’ follows up with an altogether more contemplative and laid back number, its entire four minute run time feeling like the opening introduction to a Grateful Dead extended jam, the countrified twang of successor ‘Glenn’s Tune’ simply reinforcing the same freak-out vibe. Jumping past the jarring and creepy Captain Spaulding advert style chant (look him up, it’s Sid Haig’s last role people) of ‘A Message From Our Sponsor’, a sonic lecture that really does anchor this album in the target era of Rise Above Relics, ‘Frozen Shadows’ delivers a Led Zeppelin vibe with an opening acoustic plucking that builds up layer upon layer with added keyboards, harmony vocals, and a wall of guitars that would make a Welsh country pile ensconced Jimmy Page proud. ‘Lady of Mars’, a track that should have been recorded by Blue Oyster Cult in 1974 follows, complete with solos pulled from the guitar of Buck Dharma blasts out next, seamlessly flowing into the instrumental idyll of ‘Prelude’ before the band travels into the realm of ‘The Band’ with ‘The Last ‘Dam’ Song’, the initial slap in your face twang of guitars merging into a Prog like melange of keyboards, echoing vocals, and a Doors inspired rhythm section.
Every bit a star of the album, equalling the vocals and instrumentation is the production. ‘Double Dog Dare’ lacks the intrusive polish of the modern day, allowing the listener to just dive into the genuine emotion of the band. This is not an album that is meant to deliver the perky blandness that is apparently the stock in trade of any “rawk” band looking to appeal to the mainstream, and for that I applaud White Dog. ‘Double Dog Dare’ is instead an album simply infused with gut feeling, and for that, damn, it deserves to be listened to.
(8.5/10 Spenny)
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