DOGS – Hypersensitive

Description

A cursory online search of “The Dogs” will yield at least 20 bands who’ve used that moniker over the decades – from such disparate locations as Oslo, Norway; Victoria, British Columbia and Decorah, Iowa; playing everything from punk to post-punk to rap and funk.
But for disciples of high-energy Motor City rock & roll, the only Dogs that matter are the proto-punk trio from Lansing, Michigan that recorded the off-the-rails 1978 stormer “Slash Your Face”, immortalized on the first volume of the legendary “Killed by Death” comp.

Formed in 1968 and consisting of guitarist/vocalist Loren Molinare, bassist Mary Kay and drummer Ron Wood, The Dogs played shows with their idols The Stooges and MC5 before moving to Detroit in 1973. By the following year, they’d moved briefly to NYC (where they shared stages with KISS, Television and The Dictators) but ultimately set up base up in L.A. and recorded two now-legendary singles. As a part of the nascent LA punk scene, however, their Detroit roots were a mixed blessing. Their sound bridged the gap between hard rock and punk, meaning they could land gigs with the Ramones as well as Van Halen and AC/DC (on the Oz band’s first US tour, no less!). But to LA punkers, that made The Dogs ‘mainstream’ and therefore unacceptable, prompting Loren to write the scathing “Slash Your Face” in response (“You think you’re the master race”). The Dogs would try their luck briefly in London but returned to L.A. with their tails between their legs, kicking around in one form or another until going on hiatus in 1989. Loren devoted his attention to being a guitar-slinger with Geffen-signed hard rockers Little Caesar.

Fast-forward to the 2000’s. The Dogs’ inclusion on cult compilations KBD and “Bloodstains Across California” has revived interest in the band. In addition, Dionysus Records releases the essential retrospective “Fed Up”, chronicling the band’s 70’s output. With this groundwork laid, the band records its debut album a mere 35 years into its career as a band – the solid, Motor City-worshipping Suburban Nightmare in 2003. The Dogs show they’ve still got plenty of bark and bite, and in 2011, they follow it up with “Hypersensitive”.

With Tony Matteucci replacing Wood on the skins, “Hypersensitive” features The Dogs’ strongest batch of tunes yet, featuring eleven originals (including a new studio version of “Slash Your Face”) and a cover of The Pagans’ “Her Name Was Jane”. The band has lost none of its raw power nor shake appeal. Check out this album’s centerpiece “Motor City Fever” for reference; you’ll know what we mean right from the opening riff.

Hypersensitive was self- released on CD via the band’s own Detroit Records and sold mostly at gigs, so it never reached the wider audience this killer album deserves. Heavy Med is proud to release this Dogs ‘lost classic’ on vinyl for the first time ever!