Say what you will about TikTok, and the obsession your younger siblings (and let’s be honest, you) have with it, but if nothing else, it has proven that it is a platform that can transform lives overnight. This is no more evident than in the case of DOGBRETH, when a viral TikTok showing off their album, Chookie, brought so much attention to the Arizona collective, that they were essentially forced into putting their music onto spotify. In the space of just under a month, they now boast fourty-thousand monthly listeners. And the best part? The album actually slaps, and is more than deserving of the attention!
Released in 2011, DOGBRETH’s debut album, Chookie, is twenty-six minutes of some delectable cocktail of punk, pop, and indie. Imagine the Front Bottoms, but if they recorded their album on a good day rather than on one where their girlfriends broke up with them and they can’t stop crying about it.
The opening track, ‘Critical Thinking’, starts the album off incredibly strong. With possibly the catchiest chorus on the whole album, you will be saying “wildheart, oh how I dream of your wildheart…” under your breath for the entire day after listening. Followed up by ‘All My Friends Are Dads’, DOGBRETH establishes early on that they are the kings of the singalong chorus. The strange vocal style of Tristen Jemsek is oddly enthralling. He is by no means the greatest singer of a generation, but there’s something incredibly appealing in his half-sung, half-complaining-at-your-mum-for-forgetting-your-favourite-flavour-of-monster nasally voice.
There simply are no dud songs on this album, and given that its so short, that’s not much of a surprise. Rather than bad songs, there are simply songs that aren’t quite as exciting as others. For every ‘Black Coffee’ and ‘Hunger Pains’, two incredibly fun, poppy bangers, there is a ‘Love Staff’, which by no means terrible, is just a little less interesting than the other offerings on the album.
Chookie is bookended by two of the most fun songs I’ve heard this year, in ‘Critical Thinking’ and the wonderfully titled ‘Rockin With Gramma.’ If you aren’t looking for an entire album to listen to, and just want a few songs to pop in your playlist, definitely lean on these. ‘Rockin With Gramma’ is just pure condensed fun, and shows that DOGBRETH aren’t here to take themselves all too seriously, while still being a genuinely impressive song.
While their sudden explosion of fame might be surprising, it’s hard to say that DOGBRETH weren’t worthy of the newfound acclaim. Chookie is just the tip of the iceberg for a band that is sure to impress your beanie-wearing coffee-shop friends, just so long as you don’t tell them you discovered them through TikTok.
Chookie is available to listen to now via 2584491 Records DK. Check it out down below!
