The propulsive "These Days" qualifies as the first Dr. Dog song that could be mistaken for a Strokes song, and "Warrior Man" is a full-blown psych-pop guitar jam, while "That Old Black Hole" answers existential dilemmas with a brightly melodic counterpoint.
With the two most recent additions to the band in tow - drummer Eric Slick and multi-instrumentalist Dmitri Manos - Dr. Dog came to Ardmore's Range Recording Studios in January for an "In the Mix Live" recording session.
Songwriters McMicken and Leaman sat for an interview, and the six-piece band played songs from Be the Void. The video interview and recordings can be seen at philly.com/inthemixlive. An edited version of the interview follows.
Question: Before we get to Be the Void, let's talk Shame, Shame. You began that album at a fancy studio in Upstate New York, with producer Rob Schnapf. And then you came back to Philadelphia to finish it at your studio in Kensington.
Scott McMicken: Which is also pretty fancy.
Q: Obviously. What were the lessons learned from that experience?
Toby Leaman: There were a lot. We did not understand that people didn't work on our schedule. . . . [We do] everything all at once. Just do it, do it, do it. Naively, I think we thought the way we did stuff was the way everybody does it, which is stupid to think in any aspect of your life.
McMicken: Every year that goes by, the goal is to become more and more performance-based, like a live thing . . . to capture more of the subtleties. Almost like getting a better image from a camera, to see more.
Q: Was Be the Void recorded quickly?
