Dogheart, Real Mood (Haircut)

[POP GARAGE] Dogheart's previous effort, What Burns the Best, delivered 10 songs of energetic, guitar-driven pop executed in the vein of the genre's best-loved acts. The source material was easy to identify. There was the song that sounded like Gang of Four, the one stewed in swampy Gun Club voodoo, the Sebadoh sound-alike. Having found its bearings as a band, with Real Mood, the implication is that Dogheart has decided on a straight-up pop motif, and the current approach is full speed ahead. The majority of the EP's six songs are syrupy sweet concoctions so infectious that the only thing keeping your finger from the repeat button is the knowledge that the next track offers more of the same compulsion-inducing sugar. While nothing in Dogheart's repertoire is entirely original, the group takes direction from a stellar reserve of influences. "So Easy" borrows arrangement tricks from classic Motown, and the megaphonic vocals and pummeling snare-stomp on "Drag" are a speeding ticket waiting to happen. Jeff Bond's production scrubs the scruff to a pleasingly polished sheen, suggesting that while Dogheart may have previously self-identified as a poppy garage act, it's settled into much swankier digs.

SEE IT: Dogheart plays Bunk Bar, 1028 SE Water Ave., with Ghost Girls and Surf Stoned, on Friday, May 6. 9:30 pm. $8. 21+.

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