Sundog has been an elusive band for me. I had come close to seeing them at Gold House once but I showed up right as they had started packing up. When I found out they were soon releasing their album, I made it a priority to see them at last.
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I walk in as FadVandals is about to start playing. They describe their sound as “dancey rock”. Their drummer is a fantastic tempo keeper and it makes their music easy to tap your foot to. Upbeat and repetitive with enough unexpected changes to be fitting of a psych rock audience. I walk over to Sundog’s merch table and Max is there. I ask him “where are the cassettes?” and he picks one up to show me the album cover. The music is loud so I couldn’t hear if he’s saying that the cover was made inside out on accident or if there are secret messages “inside and out”. I yell “Awesome!” and hope it makes sense. The cassettes are only $10 and I tell him I’ll buy one only if I enjoy their set.
“A loud band of quiet guys” is what comes to mind when I see Sundog live. I’ve met a couple of the guys in the band and they are laid back and a little shy. The type of personality you’d expect from someone who makes dark, deep, and psychedelic music. That’s exactly what they sound like. Their music sounds like it belongs in a Mission Impossible film directed by Lewis Carrol (author of Alice in Wonderland). Trippy, nostalgic with dramatic and driving overtones. I’m enjoying the music and the vibe at Sister tonight. The rest of the audience is having a groovy time and it makes the energy in the place very light and pleasant. There are no house stage lights on tonight. Instead, there is a projection artist from Austin TX doing stage projections. This gives me a fractal-Friday-type vibe which is complimentary to the music. The music was good, the drink was good, and the company was good. I decide to buy their album.
Loud rock with groovy bass lines, haunting melodies, and a lot of attitude. The album is amazing. It is well played and well produced. Although the album far exceeds their live rendition of it, I do recommend seeing Sundog live to get a feel for what they’re all about. It helps to attach a face to what you’re hearing in your cassette player.
I haven’t been able to find “Parnassus” online or on any of the music stores which makes think this was some sort of prerelease. I hope to be able to find it online or on Apple Music in the future so I can bump it when Im away from my tape player… Or I might just get a Walkman.
