III

This is the band's third release, but it's the first I've heard from them. I tracked it down after hearing the track Glass Jar on a sampler cd, and am I ever glad I did. (And I'll probably be backtracking their other two cds now too.) Dogpound is a very refreshing upbeat group that just plays great songs. What they do isn't anything groundbreaking -- some people might even call it formula rock, but big crunchy riffs with huge hooks and great harmonies ... that's a damn good formula. And I'll take that over unpredictable experimental crap any day. The sound has some definite 80's influences, but it's got some heavier, chunkier overtones too. The guitarist puts together some great licks and some impressive solos too. The rhythm section is spot on and excellently produced. The vocal melodies are very memorable and accented in all the right places by well-executed multi-layered harmonies. III is really just a great over-all finished product. It has 14 tracks and truth be told there are one or two that I would have cut to get it down to a more streamlined 10-12 really good songs, but that's a pretty small complaint. None-the-less, for tracks like My Own Sin, Human Hologram and my personal favorite, Blind, III is a must get cd. --Scott