I Want It Now is a powerful opening to the new album by Sundogs, The Code. With sizzling guitar work and an emotive take on the song’s arrangements, the act is able to bring listeners in by the barrelful. Settling into the seventies style of rock that links together early Ted Nugent with Boston and Bachman-Turner Overdrive with a dollup of 1980s hair metal (e.g. Ratt, Cinderella), Sundogs immediately kick out the jams.
Mystery Car is a funkier, sultry sort of jam that links together the narrative quality of Warren Zevon and Dire Straits. The bass line encountered during Mystery Car is a perfect counterpoint to the additional vocals. The song has a layered approach that will have fans continue to find new twists and turns even after multiple plays. Comin’ Back Home incorporates keys to the mix. With smart drop outs of the instrumentation to provide ample highlighting to the vocals, there’s a bit more oomph provided here when the Clapton-esque guitars kick back into high gear.
In The Night Of The Light builds upon the rich tradition of Blue Oyster Cult and Styx with some of the most immersive instrumentation one’s ever heard. There’s considerable complexity in the interactions that the guitars, drums, and bass have here that one should strap on their favorite pair of headphones to properly hear everything that Sundogs have committed to the recording.
The titular track on The Code has it all, from introspective lyrics to intense riffs and luxurious keys. Any fortunate to listen in will be tapping their toes by the time the Sundogs get to the chorus. The Code concludes with the one-two punch of Angus and Balloon. While Angus is the slower and more emotionally intense track, Balloon has a bit more whimsy. The song keeps hopeful and ends up concluding The Code on an upbeat note.
Top Tracks: I Want It Now, Comin’ Back Home
Rating: 8.2/10
Sundogs – The Code / 2020 Self Released / 12 Tracks / Bandcamp /