B-Room - Dr. Dog
B-Room Image
Metascore
72

Generally favorable reviews - based on 9 Critics What's this?

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  • Band members: F.X. Mackanoid, Gasoline Monster, Mickenz, Old Tober
  • Summary: The Philadelphia psychedelic rock band named its seventh full-length release after its new recording studio where they recorded the album with producer Nathan Sabatino.

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 9
  3. Negative: 0 out of 9
  1. All Music Guide
    Sep 30, 2013
    90
    While it shouldn't be a surprise for a Dr. Dog album to be a beautifully crafted slice of psych-pop goodness, the magic of the band lies in its ability to consistently beguile listeners with a sound that shows all the mark of genuine craftsmanship, something B-Room delivers from start to finish.
  2. Paste Magazine
    Oct 1, 2013
    77
    The changes seem to be more internal to the band’s processes and each member’s role as they branch out and record together, but that confidence in each other bleeds through in these songs.
  3. Filter
    Oct 2, 2013
    72
    Dr. Dog is a fun, energetic and entertaining crew, but it speaks volumes that fish tacos still come to mind.
  4. American Songwriter
    Sep 30, 2013
    70
    It’s the sound of a knowing band reveling in what it does best. B-Room, which combines the scrappiness of the band’s earliest records with a matured sense of songcraft, is sure to please longtime Dr. Dog fans.
  5. Under The Radar
    Oct 1, 2013
    70
    These tunes are ripe and ready for picking, the fruitful results of a band that grows infectious melodies by watering them with good instincts. [Aug-Sep 2013, p.89]
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  6. Exclaim
    Sep 30, 2013
    60
    The lesson should be that there are some great songs buried beneath all the studio trickery, and focusing on that would serve Dr. Dog much better next time out.
  7. Pitchfork
    Sep 30, 2013
    54
    Without outside direction, however, Dr. Dog quickly go back to their old ways. Afrobeat specialists Antibalas provide the horns on B-Room, but their talents are wasted on songs like "Long Way Down", the beginning of which sounds like the Wayne's World dissolve tuned to a baritone sax.

See all 9 Critic Reviews

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  1. Positive: 1 out of 1
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 1
  3. Negative: 0 out of 1
  1. mooradj0
    Oct 1, 2013
    9
    A review by someone who just peruses the Dr. Dog catalog will say, "More of the same, good songs, but not compelling." I have listened to Dr. Dog for years, seen them live five times and KNOW that they are great American songwriters.
    This album takes the familiarity and gives it a new life; the production and subject matter is the most diverse of any of their albums, resulting in what I would say is my new favorite Dr. Dog album.
    I hate when a band feels stagnant, like time hasn't passed, (Beach House, a prime example). Albums run together, songs lose their meaning. Dr. Dog has delivered an album that takes up its own place in the void of nameless indie-pop groups that all rely on new midi and drum machines sounds to differentiate themselves from the other voice identical to theirs.
    Dr. Dog finds a new voice with each album; the progress is essential.

    I always think of what the next album should look like, and I would love a total departure from past efforts for any band; Dr. Dog seems to take the next step naturally, reflecting the motions in life that pull us to a new personality or perspective.

    Keep it up.    … Expand

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