Doxies' album catchy
Published Oct. 10, 2006
In the world of dairy-producing livestock, the goat is the underdog. Cows are recognized as the primary source of dairy products, even though goat milk sustains small farmers and villages in many parts of the world, and the goat population works just as hard as its bovine brethren to produce something similar and accessible, yet all its own.
So it is with The Doxies on In Search Of..., the group's fourth studio album. Critics have billed the band as a follower of more recognizable alt-country bands like Uncle Tupelo and Wilco. But the hard-working Columbia quintet continues to grow musically, bringing joy to fans by creating something familiar, but with a soul all its own.
The band's greatest new musical asset is the addition of drummer and vocalist Phylshawn Johnson to the lineup. Johnson is not only a skilled rock 'n' roll drummer, but she's also a solid vocalist with an easygoing, effortless quality to her voice.
The album opens with "Goat," a stomping, no frills garage-rock track. The song shows off just why Johnson was added to the lineup: She demonstrates her prowess as a hard-hitting drummer and backing vocalist.
On "Every Once In A While," she shares lead vocal duties with front man Brent Maness, first alternating between Maness's Jeff Tweedy-esque style and Johnson's balance of delicacy and twang, allowing both to shine individually, and together through the breezy harmonies on the chorus. The track itself, with guitars that offer both distortion and jangling, is solid, well-crafted alt-country.
Throughout most of the album, the band defies sticking to one particular genre, instead blending elements from many aspects of garage rock, country, blues and indie rock. "Touch and Go" adds brash, simple British Invasion-style guitar riffs to the mix and complements the track — and its coming-of-age lyrics — quite well. Maness's gravelly vocals against a catchy "na na na" refrain on "Golden Age" create a '90s alternative rock feel.
The album peaks near the end with the sweeping "War Against the Future," an epic slacker anthem made for karaoke voices, earnest barroom sing-a-longs and long drives. The track's slow, soulful vocals and bluesy guitar licks could make the toughest oil-stained biker in the audience shed a tear. Complete with Wes Wingate's lush piano and subtle wordplay in the lyrics, this is where the Doxies deviate in full from being just another alt-country club band. The song, with its vow that "I know we may be young/but we're comin' after you" as its chorus, demonstrates not only the band's determination to prove that it has come into its own, but it also invites the audience into the band's experiences.
The last few tracks on the album lean toward power-pop and indie sensibilities. This is not a negative shift, but an awkward one. The synth playing on "Take You Anywhere" seems less alt-country and more Death Cab For Cutie, and the bouncing piano and "oh-oh" harmonies recall the power-pop of the New Pornographers. The songs that close the album are still well-crafted pop songs, but it is when The Doxies stick to their raucous alt-country roots that their true soul and ability to add something special to the genre — a new way to milk an old goat, if you will — truly shines.
Artist: The Doxies
Album: In Search Of...
Genre: Alt-country
Record Label: Co-opt Records
Release Date: Today
Most Listenworthy Track: 'War Against The Future'
Reviewer's Rating: 4 out of 5Ms