The music of Philadelphia's Dr. Dog is most often compared to classic rock touchstones like The Band and The Beatles, and for good reason—the band shares not only the timeless aesthetic and rich vocal harmonies of Lennon and McCartney or Robertson and Helm, but also the musical longing for simpler times, as expressed in songs such as "When I'm Sixty-Four" and "When You Awake."
The band's newest album, Fate, is full of such moments, from melancholy opener "The Breeze" ("Are you moving much too fast?/And the good times that just don't last/If you're always on the go/Make an angel in the snow/And freeze") to simple, graceful professions of love like "From" and "Hang On."
Those Band comparisons hold water live as well, with singers Toby Leaman and Scott McMicken bouncing around like Rick Danko as they sing in full-throated glee. And while the overly cynical critics at Pitchforkmedia.com have been slow to warm to the band, giving their last three albums ridiculously lowballed reviews, Dr. Dog has nevertheless found success, thanks in part to fellow musicians such as Wilco, M. Ward and The Raconteurs extolling the band's virtues in print and inviting them out on tour, knowing full well these Philadelphia boys could blow them off the stage on any given night.
