Plain Dog – “All My Friends”

Plain Dog – “All My Friends”

Plain Dog are a Brooklyn band who play a scuzzy, psych-laced strain of rock music. Built on the founding duo of guitarist/vocalist Russell Efros and guitarist Willie Almack, the band has undergone a few lineup changes as they’ve gigged around New York since their 2015 formation, most recently adding Ian Devaney — frontman of recent Band To Watch Nation Of Language — on bass. Over the course of these early years and one EP, they moved from grungy garage rock roots to a more layered, washed-out sound. Today, their music’s DNA is equal parts ’80s and ’90s American indie and the blearier corners of Britpop and its immediate predecessors, bringing to mind the mix a band like Yuck was messing around with at the beginning of the decade.

The group is now gearing up to release their sophomore EP tomorrow, entitled All My Friends. You may have stumbled across some of its songs already: “Cherry Cola” was featured in an episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and “Girl Named Phil” was included on Glassnote Records’ recent Noteworthy 01 Compilation. On this EP, Efros wanted to inject a bit more shoegaze qualities into their sound, leading to songs that toe the line between rough-hewn and dreamy.

Today, we’re premiering one of those songs, the title track of the All My Friends EP. For any fan of various strains of alternative guitar music, there’s a lot to love here, from the murkily glittering intro part, to the switch to overdriven, bleeding riffs as the song barrels into its more intense passages. Efros’ vocals, too, emphasize that balance of Brit-rock and American indie, moving from despondent to angst-ridden. Even as he moves into an anxious growl, though, Efros offers up sentiments that are right in the sardonic tradition of slacker indie, with the recurring refrain of “All of my friends/ Think I’m dumb.” Check it out below.

The All My Friends EP is out 2/7 and will be available on Plain Dog’s Bandcamp page.

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