DOG CHOCOLATE – SNACK FANS
Snack Fans could not be a more apt name for the debut album by Dog Chocolate, a chaotic four-piece hailing from London. Due on the 18th March, the crazily surreal album contains fourteen tracks altogether, most of which not going over two minutes long, with a run-time of an easily digestible 25 minutes. The band compromises of Andrew, Matthew, Jono and Robert; who have all played in other bands before and have come together to create the most hilariously offbeat atmosphere in Dog Chocolate.
Fun is the keyword here, and this is no doubt prevalent in every single song on Snack Fans. Dog Chocolate are in no way a band that take themselves seriously and this only widens their appeal. A combination of shouty vocals, nonsensical lyrics and guitars and keyboards being played in a completely erratic, seemingly uncontrolled way are not often a recipe for success, but somehow they make it work. Just a few tracks in it’s evident that Dog Chocolate are like Marmite. They aren’t for everyone, but if you don’t hate them then you’re probably guaranteed to love them.
Highlights include the first and probably the most popular track, Emotionally Buff which is fast-paced and contains some crazy yet expertly controlled riffs. However, an unexpected favourite is the weirdly anecdotal Con Air. At just a minute in length, the chaotic music is broken up by deadpan vocals every couple of seconds; “And I remember queuing underage at the cinema to watch Con Air, so excited,” which gives the song the perfect balance of being completely insane yet hilarious. Another funny highlight is Be a Bloody River, which almost seems like an argument in song and ends in a tantrum-like scream, completely unlike anything I’ve ever heard before.
The closest Dog Chocolate do get to being somewhat serious in their music is Everyday’s the End of the World for Someone, probably the catchiest track on Snack Fans. It contains slightly more depressing subject matter but is still handled in a light hearted, effortlessly funny way. Loopy lyrics seem to be a recurring theme, most obviously demonstrated in songs like Jono Filling Bin Bags and Wish for a Cat.
Dog Chocolate are a band that take a lot of risks in their music and they pull them off in a suitably weird fashion. They’ve proved they can hit all the right notes even when they don’t quite, erm, hit the right notes.
Release Date 18/03/2016 (Label: Upset The Rhythm)
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