DOG DAY - Deformer

When a band loses half its members, the usual course of action is to either replace the departed members or break up. Halifax's Dog Day have chosen instead to continue on as a two-piece, and the first recordings of their new lineup prove they made the right choice. Sharing the duties of guitar and drums (an instrument neither of them had played before), Seth Smith and Nancy Urich make the most of their new setup, taking a lo-fi home-recorded approach that's perfectly suited for their music, at times recalling the oeuvre of Rick White (who produced 2010's Elder Schoolhouse EP, the last recordings of their former incarnation).

While this album is still unquestionably Dog Day, anyone who is familiar with their previous efforts (2007's Night Group and 2009's Concentration) will notice a much darker and self-referential lyrical approach this time around. The subject matter of these songs often speak to the band's new situation in brutally honest terms. On "Part Girl," when Seth sings, "We should jam together, not like the others, pictures in my grey skull still wanna come out and be coloured," and on "Positive," when he sings "I'm optimistic for us, not holding my hopes that high, we're running out of things to fight about, keep practicing 'til we're tight," you get the sense that while Dog Day has been dealt a few bad hands, they're not giving up.