Office Dog – Spiel (2024) [FLAC 24bit/44,1kHz]

Office Dog – Spiel (2024)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 40:26 minutes | 442 MB | Genre: Alternative Rock, Post-Punk
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © New West Records, LLC

Introducing Office Dog, hailing from Ōtepoti/Dunedin and residing in Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland. The trio, led by Kane Strang on guitar/vocals, alongside Rassani Tolovaa on bass and Mitchell Innes on drums, present their debut album Spiel — out January 26, 2023 via New West Records Records. Assembling intricate musical collages, Office Dog fearlessly explore the depths of complex emotions through layers of tension, release, and celestial lyricism.Office Dog formed in 2021. Amidst a busy solo career, front-person Kane Strang sought a more collaborative musical outlet. He teamed up with fellow musicians and previous collaborators Mitchell Innes and Rassani Tolovaa, and the trio began writing together across various locations in Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland. Over the next year, fragments began assembling into songs, ultimately culminating in the creation of Office Dog’s debut full-length album, ‘Spiel’, recorded in collaboration with producer De Stevens at Roundhead Studios and mastered by Jonathan Pearce (The Beths). For Fans Of: Pile, Protomartyr, Duster, Pavement, Elliott SmithThe power shoegaze trio Office Dog from Dunedin, New Zealand—by way of Auckland—carries on their hometown’s music traditions. Since the late 1970s, the South Island city has birthed many striking and influential bands like The Chills, The Verlaines and The Clean, creating a scene called the “Dunedin sound.”

Led by singer/songwriter Kane Strang, with bassist Rassani Tolovaa and drummer Mitchell Innes at his side, Office Dog’s tales of emotional turmoil ride on a mass of roiling guitar distortion. “Big Air,” with its steady beat, takes on enough friendly, strummed electric chords and structure to be considered a pop tune; Strang’s lyrics mix images with restless emotions: “Sinking’s just fine/ Now I know the lake/ I can’t feel nobody else/ I can’t feel no pain.” The band occasionally turns up the volume to full pound as in the opener “Shade.” Those same even rhythms return in “Gleam,” where a droney fuzz wall of guitar gnarl bolsters lyrics foreshadowing an emotional climax—”Hurry now, you’re late/ It’s coming/ Hurry now, that closing door’s still open/Here’s hoping.” Strang’s solo singer-songwriter background informs quieter, more acoustic-leaning tracks like “Warmer, ” which eventually builds to a head when satisfaction, or something very like it, makes a brief appearance: “Joy’s on stage/ Dread’s in the wings/ Thicket mind’s/ Slowly clearing.”

Spiel was recorded in two days at Roundhead Studios in Auckland, produced and engineered by De Stevens (who also plays piano on “Warmer” and “Teeth”). It has a full if distorted heft—a drone-like sound that envelopes but is careful not to overwhelm the melodies or lyrics. A solid debut by fresh indie rock diviners from Aotearoa’s most musically inspirational burgh. – Robert Baird

Tracklist:

1-1. Office Dog – Shade (02:51)
1-2. Office Dog – Antidote (03:57)
1-3. Office Dog – Gleam (02:34)
1-4. Office Dog – Warmer (03:44)
1-5. Office Dog – Big Air (03:26)
1-6. Office Dog – Tightropes (03:02)
1-7. Office Dog – In the Red (03:39)
1-8. Office Dog – Hand in Hand (02:59)
1-9. Office Dog – Cut the Ribbon (03:56)
1-10. Office Dog – Teeth (02:20)
1-11. Office Dog – The Crater (02:31)
1-12. Office Dog – Spiel (05:22)

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