Dog is Dead

    As a (HUGE) fan of the British teen drama Skins, I have watched each episode of every seasons (from one to six) - and I am looking forward to watching for the very last ones. 

    The six seasons were separated into three generations of teenagers living in Bristol, England. Basically, the show is talking about these groups of teenagers being in high-school, trying to find a sense to their lives (and screwing it before eventually taking a direction that can be considered as the 'safest one'), and enjoying their lives through parties. Sex, Drug and Alcohol, Pregnancy, Death and Mental Disorder, but mainly Friendship and Love; those are the words that can define the show.

http://skinsgifs.tumblr.com

     • Franky, Mini, Nick, Grace, Alo, Liv, Rich and Matt, or the main characters of the third season.

    Following the theme of the show, this season talked about those teenagers lives. This season was different from the previous ones, but yet still interesting. 

    But let's talk of Dog is Dead, shall we?

     If the introduction is about skins, it is because a lot of people - including me - discovered them through it. They appeared at the end of the episode 3x08 with their song "Young" during in the church, and "Glockenspiel Song" at the very end of the episode. The first is only a music over when it is in for the latter. Indeed, "Glockenspiel Song" is filmed a street-concert or festival whose the characters attend and during which the characters yell the end of the song "We are a mess, we are failures, and we love it".

Dog is Dead a British indie pop band originated from West Bridgford, Nottingham, England. They have described their band as "an original blend of harmonious, indie-pop in the disco, with a cheeky jazz hint" and "uplifting pop for jazz junkies and choir folk".

The band is composed of:

• Robert Milton : Vocals, Guitar and Bass Guitar

• Joss Van Wilder : Vocals, Keyboards and Guitar

• Lawrence 'Trev' Cole : Vocals, Saxophone and Bass Guitar

• Rob 'Paul Roberts' White : Vocals and Guitar

• Daniel Harvey: Drums

Robert, Joss and Lawrence met first at the West Bridgford School before meeting the two other members a few months later and starting the band in 2008. Their debut single, "Glockenspiel Song," was released on June 7, 2010, and appeared in 2011 in the closing episode of the fifth season of the show Skins (as said above). 

In April 2009, they released their debut promotional EP "Dog Is Dead" - composed of "The Zoo", "Board Games" and "Clockwork". This EP was released under their own label "Your Childhood Records" attached to Atlantics Records.

In May 2011, their second EP was released by Atlantic Records - thanks to the impact of their appearance in Skins? - called "Your Childhood" and composed of "Young", "A Motel", "River Jordan" and "Glockenspiel Song".

In September 2011, a third EP was released called "Confessions" and composed of accoustic versions of "Young", "River Jordan" and "Head in Your Hands".

 

With these EPs, one of their single was for the first time played on BBC national radios (Radio 1 and Radio 6 Music). They wil then win little by little their notoriety - playing in festivals around Europe.

In October 2012, they released their debut album entitled "All Our Favourite Stories". The song "Talk Through the Night" (above) is taken from this album, such as "Do The Right Thing".

Thanks to this album, they started a tour in the UK but also in Europe. (You can find the dates on their website)

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My opinion:

This band is one of my "musical crush". Different, young, they introduced to me a new kind of music which is really fresh, colourful and enjoyable at every moment of the day. They are really close to their fans - who called themselves "WAF" (following the lyrics of "Glockenspiel Songs": 'We Are Failures'). 

They really deserve to be known for their music - not only because they are British or a band (composed of young boys) and part of the British musical wave which started a couple of years ago.

Buying their album is not a waste of money - and listening to it is obviously not a waste of time. 

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