Album Review: All Dogs – Kicking Every Day
By Carly Preston, Contributor
[Salinas; 2015]
Rating: 4.5/5
Key Tracks: “Sunday Morning,” “Skin,” “How Long”
In 2013 a Columbus four-piece debuted a sound that had yet to be heard from a low-key (but stellar) scene. All Dogs’ split tape with Slouch kept the heavy drums that had been thriving but highlighted peppy vocals, a soprano voice and guitar melodies that would get stuck in your head for an entire summer. Later that year, All Dogs’ self-titled EP was released and a new sound emerged. The 2013 summer of Ohioan punks was made a little better; we had “Buddy” and “Say” to perfectly fit the melancholy vibes of a Midwest July. Needless to say, so many others and myself were stoked on a new All Dogs record.
Kicking Every Day is the All Dogs sound most of us fell in love with, but with a more mature and tuned sound. The guitar is much heavier this time around, but the sweet and gentle vocals juxtapose the guitar in a way that causes the dreamiest of trances. Every track guides the others along, while still showing another style that we had not known before.
Tracks like “The Garden” and “Your Mistakes” are romantic, soft and haunting. Maryn Jones’ voice has an amazing knack for filling your ears with the most alluring of chills. However, this is nothing scary; in fact, they’re familiar and warm. All Dogs are a good example of how a female vocalist can embrace her higher pitched and natural voice and still appeal to a tough punk scene. “That Kind of Girl” and “Ophelia” are fun and perfect for playing on those long drives.
The standout tracks on Kicking Every Day have to be “Skin” and “Sunday Morning.” These songs represent where the band has come from. They remind you of those old summers spent with All Dogs while reflecting on the personal journey taken by the band.
Kicking Every Day is a beautiful and admirable album. All Dogs truly hit the ball out of the park and sunk deeper into the crusted-over hearts of punks and HXCers alike. Please do yourself a favor and check out this album the next time you’re outside laying in the grass staring into the sky. You might not realize it now, but the All Dogs vibe is too perfect to ignore.
