Track Dogs and me have been operating in parallel universes for a long time. The name was there on the horizon with the music getting close to landing a couple of times. There was even a couple of near misses on the live front with festival withdrawals leaving a disconnect that was destined to remain until an opportune moment intervened. Now shifting plates have bridged the gap and some time has been afforded to take in the wares offered from their latest album. WHERE TO NOW? is as eclectic as you would expect from a band swinging to the rhythm of a pan-European existence and a make up even spanning the continents.
The base sound swivels between Latino, Celtic and English folk. All with a strident positive beat that strikes a chord with listeners happy to hook up with a band on a carousel ride. A sleuth of quieter tracks do apply the brakes occasionally, but it is the accessible anthems that pitch the record. You don't require much imagination to project this sound onto a stage, although meeting up with the dozen or so guests invited to play on the album would present a logistical challenge.
The twelve tracks selected for this, the 8th Track Dogs album include eleven originals with the odd one out being a cover of James Taylor's 'Carolina in My Mind'. Approved by the great man himself and perhaps one of the deviant moments across the forty-minute action packed listening time. Two of the album's songs accrue an extra 'featuring' credit. Cathy Jordan of Dervish fame takes over on lead vocals for 'Donna Lola' and several plays lift this track as one of the album's key moments. Fellow Madrid-based act The Potato Monsters oblige with a headline invitation to collaborate of 'Empty Tracks', one of the more left field inclusions.
Elsewhere brass and banjo come to the fore on the opening duo of 'Every Dog's Day' and 'My Love Feels Real'. The real deal trip into Latino territory exists in 'Rivers of Gold' and several temperate moments ease the pace a little, no more so than in the closing pair of 'At a Time Like This' and 'Last Lick of Life'.
This melting pot of international sounds is a classic case of folk 'n' roots meets accessible organic pop. Track Dogs have a lot of instrumental ammunition and artistic licence at their disposal. WHERE TO NOW? is a vibrant and holistic sum of using every nuance of their experience to create a slice of music oven ready for appreciation by old fans and new. Eventually, Track Dogs and me now cruise down the same highway to eradicate any remnants of a parallel universe.
