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"...intertwining vintage R&B with the band's retro-indie rock." - AOL Spinner
"Timeless pop songs meet tasteful arrangements and it all just seems so effortless." - My Old Kentucky Blog
"Jessica Grassia...brings her bronzed pipes to the forefront, carrying six of the 12 songs with her on-point caterwauling." - Eye Weekly
"stunning new album Coat Of Arms, either way this is the album you’ve been waiting for. Saturated with classic rock, doo wop undertones and fabulous production, Coat Of Arms is a visceral, lively stomp through rock history’s warmest tones, marvelously re-contextualized and re-imagined by The Golden Dogs" - Lithium Magazine
"Coat of Arms is like a harmonious marriage of a psychedelic rocker and an indie pop muse." - The Owl Mag
"Golden Dogs remain unafraid to sound like a regular indie rock band, most likely because they do it so well."
- Exclaim
"However you want to classify them, and whatever vague descriptors you want to use, it really all comes down to one simple fact: that Coat of Arms is really, really good." - I Heart Music
"...Grassia’s sweet, hushed vocals build up to an entirely fantastic hook in the chorus...It leaves a warmth in the listener’s ear that stays long after the song has ceased" - Sock Monkey Sound
"The result is titled Coat of Arms, and it brilliantly displays the musical union Azzolini, Grassia, Knox and company have found with each other, and the band seems to be more confident and commanding than ever before." - Gravy and Biscuits
At the end of a hard year of touring in support of their second album ‘Big Eye Little Eye’, which took them by way of Britain and Germany, straight across the USA sharing stages with Canadian luminaries like Feist and Sloan, those who witnessed its fury likely had no inkling it was the end of a chapter for the band. The long awaited homecoming was bittersweet; there were big changes on the horizon. For starters, the band had been released from their record contract; a contract they had been locked into for years that now left them 100% in control of their business affairs. In another twist of fate, their long time bass player, Stew Heyduk, decided to leave the country and get married in Hawaii. Within weeks of being at home and somewhat directionless, the question began looming: “What now?” While there are always songs brewing on lead man Dave Azzolini’s hot plate, the idea of going straight into recording another album wasn’t an attractive one. They needed a break from being Golden Dogs.
Without trying to force movement into the intimidating ‘next album’ phase, the couple began spending more time hanging at a little garage studio on Toronto’s east side, operated by their good friends Carlin Nicholson & Mike O’Brien - this duo now known as Zeus. The whole crew had a lot of fun just writing and recording tunes they had written and while Nicholson honed his engineering chops, everyone nurtured and developed their production skills. As well, the studio was a very welcome place for other musician friends to pop by. Friends like Neil Quin (ex-Golden Dog/future Zeus member) and Afie Jurvanen (Bahamas) who ended up playing a solo on the Golden Dogs album as a return favour for Azzolini playing piano on one of the Bahamas tracks he recorded there.
The spirit was described by Azzolini : “It was very much a ‘best idea wins’ situation and the songwriter always had final veto power. It made for a very comfortable environment to make music. It was just musicians getting together to bounce ideas off each other.” This was a great time to forget about being in a band, and to just get back to playing music for it’s own sake, with a group of friends riding the same wave and just soaking in the energy of the studio. The result is titled Coat of Arms, and it brilliantly displays the musical union Azzolini, Grassia, Knox and company have found with each other, and the band seems to be more confident and commanding than ever before. One marvels at the way they can seem playful and sweet on a track like LESTER, yet terrifyingly savage on BURST or DARKROOM.
The most obvious and wonderful difference this time around is that Ms. Grassia takes a giant leap forward and can be heard taking the lead on almost half the album with a range spanning from sweet & psychedelic (UNDERWATER GOLDMINE) to seductive (AS LONhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifG AS YOU LIKE) to furious pop madness on songs like WHEN THE MOVIE’S OVER, and CHEAP UMBRELLAS. Her vocal performances while drumming (AS LONG AS YOU LIKE and LESTER) is quickly becoming a Golden Dogs secret weapon and quite an impressive element to their live shows.
What now? Coat of Arms will be released on Dine Alone April 26th 2011. Feeling up-beat and optimistic about the new direction, Azzolini boasts that “the versatility of this new line up opens up a whole new world of possibilities for Golden Dogs live shows and the future of our recordings…there are so many directions we can go…and we’re going to try all of them.”
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http://www.thegoldendogs.com/
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