The Dogs – Back to Fucking (single)

I’ve often uttered the words “I don’t believe in singles”. It’s a fairly arrogant way of saying that I prefer full-length albums, or at the very least EP’s. Singles don’t tell you much. A song can work on its own, yet feel completely wrong in the greater scheme of an album. And vice-versa. So, I normally ignore requests to review singles. Until one by The Dogs appeared in my inbox.

Why, you ask? Because it’s The fucking Dogs, that’s why! This point might need some explanation for you non-Norwegians, but trust me: it’s a big deal.

Five out of six names don’t ring any bells with me and that’s no offence to those involved. Mads Martinsen, Tommy Reite, Henrik Odde Gustavsen, Kenneth Simonsen and Stefan Höglin are all great musicians, but their names pale in comparison to the living legend that operates the microphone. I’ve seen Kristopher Schau growl his heart out at a crowd as the frontman of The Cumshots and I’ll never forget “Fuck for Forest”, but there is one moment that is burnt into my mind from my childhood and that is Kristopher Schau rubbing kittens into his eyes in order to induce an allergic reaction on national TV. This was all before he spent about a year attending the funerals of people who had no-one else attending their funeral. And I’m sure I’m leaving out all the most important bits.

Kristopher Schau is insane. Kristopher Schau gets me excited about a fucking single. And the single is good. “Back to Fucking” comes with a long apology from The Dogs who do their best to go back on the promise they made on their previous album, which was that they were done with fucking and just wanted to dance. Hence, “Back to Fucking”.

The song itself is nothing that you haven’t heard before. It’s not breaking new ground, it’s not revealing a great, new aspect of The Dogs which has not been present on their previous 12 releases. None of that. This is pure, straight forward Garage Punk from Oslo. It’s fast, catchier than the plague and with a distinct, murky voice-production that screams The Dogs. There’s whiffs of Gluecifer here, but it’s still very much Kristoher Schau and his cronies, back to fucking. Most notable of all, is the obvious, self-deprecating humor. The whole song is about the previous album, there’s zero subtlety, it’s so direct it’s stupid, hilarious and just pure, testosterone-fueled perfection.

This is one of those singles that reveal absolutely nothing about a potential upcoming album. The album could be crap, which would make the song useless. Or the album could be solid, and you’re not making singles like “Back to Fucking” without the ability to do exactly that. “Back to Fucking” would be one of a couple of active highpoints on any great Garage Punk album. It’s pretty straight forward music with a lot of heart and soul. It’s absolutely delightful and I truly can’t wait for a full-lengther including this single. May The Dogs keep fucking for a long time!

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