Hair of the Dog

by ARTHUR

Overview

Philly-based solo artist ARTHUR's fragmented pop visions were formed in part by constant exposure to video games and their 8-bit soundtracks while he was growing up. His 2018 debut album, Woof Woof, was a collection of short songs that flew by like succinct theme songs for imaginary late-night TV shows. Second album Hair of the Dog continues ARTHUR's proclivity for miniature pop composition, growing more demented, giddy, and cartoonish with each track. Even in its more reserved moments, Hair of the Dog is crowded with melodies and aggressive full-color arrangements. "Biz" ornaments its would-be mellow groove with blasts of pitch-shifted vocals, outbursts of distorted synths, and liquid vocal harmonies. On songs like this and especially the broken-beat pop standout "No Tengo," ARTHUR shows hints of the influence of 2000s weirdo pop stars like Animal Collective and Ariel Pink. Soaring vocal hooks are interrupted by unpredictable and frenzied horn lines, garbled samples, and other fractured sounds. "Fatalist" is another of the album's best tunes, jamming demonic-voiced hooks and nervously catchy chord progressions into its here-and-gone running time of just one minute and seven seconds. "I Don't Want to Talk to You" is breezier and almost twice as long, but still fits equal parts confusion and catchiness in its compact form. Much of Hair of the Dog follows this formula. Most of the 13 tracks are stuffed with uneasy combinations of wistful, romantic melodies and garish, overblown sounds. It's a brand of pop that will take some listeners a few spins to get used to, but it rewards with surprises around every corner. Just when you start to think you've cracked the code for ARTHUR's weird world of sounds, he brings in guest artist Caleb Giles for a rapped bridge on the wobbly synth-pop suite "Something Sweet." Without reaching the three-minute mark, ARTHUR recalls Porches' sad-hearted sighing and Panda Bear's queasy production, adding a few lines of rapping just to further muddy the waters. Hair of the Dog is a surreal ride, but the undercurrent of kindhearted curiosity keeps it from being an alienating one. Even when they're coated in fuzz and delivered with cartoon voices, ARTHUR can only obscure his pop foundations so much. ~ Fred Thomas

Product Details

Release Date:	09/18/2020
Label:	Empire
UPC:	0194690222733
Rank:	76288

Album Credits

Performance Credits

ARTHUR   Primary Artist