Facing New York – Dogtown
Release Date: December 14, 2018 via Nice Life Recording Company
14 December 2018
Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a late entry into the favorite album of the year category for Sound Vapors. I can tell you that I have listened to this album non-stop for a week. It’s a nine song rock album that is filled with an epic sonic experience.
Dogtown by Facing New York is just what the rock world needs right now. Being unafraid to write songs that aren’t exactly what the industry at this current point and time, considers mainstream, radio songs, is a little uncommon but welcomed. But I don’t want to paint a picture of an abstract album that is just full of weird sounds. Far from it. It just feels like a rock album. That is all. A groovy, brilliant rock album. I only hope that it will get out to the masses and people will get the chance to experience it like I have.
Singer and vocalist, Eric Frederic, puts together some performances like the title track, Dogtown that sound like what Radiohead would be if they had a rhythm section of Tim Commerford and Brad Wilk and were a little fuzzier. Eric then switches it up and spits some impressive vocals that have some major swag to them on Hail Mary.
On songs like Big Rev and Shame, we get that BIG tube amp, guitar driven sound that folks like me don’t get enough of these days. But what also makes these songs and audio feel so big is the excellent performance of bass player Brandon Canchola. His bass is fat and he lays down some sick grooves throughout the record. My absolute favorite Brandon track is Shame. There is a little 5 second musical piece before the chorus that is just butter.
If we are talking big, let talks about Omar Cuellar’s monster sounding drums. First.. that kick drum. Now that’s the way a proper kick should be in the mix. My favorite track of Omar’s is one the really gets started about 1:45, in. It’s, Trouble. I love his swing on this track. His use of the hats, crash and ride keeps me intrigued the rest of the song.
Let’s talk Eric. All around, his performance on this album is pretty stellar. As I mentioned before, he pushes some boundaries on the overall vocal personality of the album. He puts together some ultra cool combinations and makes writing riffs, seem like second nature. But I want to talk about the mix. The album was engineered by Ian Rickard, Glenn Sawyer and Ethan Shumaker. It was mastered by Chris Gehringer. It was mixed by Grammy nominated Ricky Reed. You know Reed’s work. Trust me, you know it. Go look him up on Wikipedia.
Here’s the thing. The mix is just one of the many things to stand out positively on this album but those of you that read my articles know that I am a production/mix guy. I’m fascinated by what a great mix can do to a record. Don’t get me wrong, you need everything else to be in place but a crappy mix can ruin the experience. Reed has done a masterful job here. The kicker is that singer and guitarist, Eric Frederic is Ricky Reed. Generally, you’d probably want the artist and mixing engineer to be two different people. Maybe he put on his Ricky Reed hat when he mixed and forgot he was Eric. Maybe. Whatever he did, clearly worked.
If you have been missing some good old fashioned (and by old fashioned I mean my precious 90’s rock) rock and roll, I recommend you go listen to this album right now.
My 3 favorite songs: Dogtown. When those drums come in. Sweet Jesus. Number 2 is, Trouble. It’s like Andy Summers joined Jane’s Addiction for a song and delivered this song. For number 3, I’m going to be a weenie and choose 2. Shame and Big Rev. Fugget. They rule.
9.2/10
-Tommy Marz
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DOGTOWN TRACKLISTING
Dogtown
Big Rev
Gods of the Good Shit
Hail Mary
Birth of Venus
Trouble
Shame
Heaven is High Hell is Low
Your Love
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