Old LP

Old LP is the fourth studio album by American alternative rock band That Dog, released on October 4, 2019, by UME. The album is the band's first since their 2011 reformation and received positive reviews from critics.

Old LP
Studio album by
That Dog
ReleasedOctober 4, 2019 (2019-10-04)
Recorded2016–2019
Studio
  • The Boat (Silver Lake, Los Angeles, California)
  • Kingsize Soundlabs (Los Angeles, California)
  • Park Oak (Los Angeles, California)
  • The Whiskey Kitchen (Los Angeles, California)
Genre
Length40:03
LabelUME
Producer
That Dog chronology
Retreat from the Sun
(1997)		 Old LP
(2019)
Singles from Old LP
  1. "If You Just Didn't Do It"
    Released: August 21, 2019

Recording and release

Songwriting for Old LP began in 2012[2] and recording, funded in part via Kickstarter, began in 2016 after That Dog's 2011–2012 tours.[3] Former band member Petra Haden declined to participate in the recording of the album.[4] The album was preceded by the 2015 single "Mean What I Say", recorded with Andrew Dost.

Old LP was released by UME on October 4, 2019, marking the band's first album in 22 years.[2] The lead single from Old LP, "If You Just Didn't Do It", was released in August 2019,[5] and the music video for "Just the Way" debuted two days before the album's release.[6] A tape edition of the album was released for Cassette Store Day in 2019.[7]

Reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic​85⁄100[8]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[9]
Robert ChristgauA−[10]
The Line of Best Fit9/10[11]
Paste7.8/10[12]
Pitchfork7.4/10[13]
Under the Radar7.5/10[14]

Old LP was met with positive reviews from critics noted at review aggregator Metacritic. This release received a weighted average score of 85 out of 100, based on six reviews.[8] At Album of the Year, critical consensus is summed up as an 81 out of 100, with six reviews.[15]

Reviewing for The New York Times, Jon Pareles said, "The music is denser and more intricate, conjuring symphonic grandeur alongside overdriven noise. The jokes are gone; the stakes feel higher. But the band's underlying moxie hasn't changed."[3] AllMusic reviewer Heather Phares highlighted the stylistic diversity of Old LP and said, "All of the time invested in the album pays off richly: Old LP shows how that dog. has grown into their legacy".[9] Maura Johnston of Pitchfork praised the band's mix of pop sensibilities and rock performance: "Old LP works because its growth doesn't pander to modern notions of 'cool.' But the way the band re-balances the grime-vs.-grandiosity equation with each song demonstrates that when it comes to musical math, the proof matters as much as the outcome."[13] Nina Corcoran of The A.V. Club wrote that the band "commit to graceful indie rock and poppy alt-rock, but sound happiest when revisiting the jubilant pop-punk hooks of its heyday".[1]

For The Line of Best Fit, Alex Wisgard praised Old LP for expanding the band's sound and found that it "is so assured and confident, it's easy to imagine another two decades of additional back catalogue we simply never heard".[11] Scott D. Elingburg of Under the Radar called the album "a steady, hard-won set of songs that unfold after many, compounded listens".[14] In his Substack-published "Consumer Guide" column, Robert Christgau found that the melodies range from "catchy to exquisite" and, "though the hyperconscious lyrics often seem constricted, resentful, unresolved, the music lifts them up, and then the title finale lifts the whole album up."[10] In Paste, Ben Salmon concluded that That Dog "were—and are—a band that offers a unique voice within their field, and it's wonderful to have them back".[12]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Anna Waronker.[16]

  1. "Your Machine" – 2:58
  2. "Just the Way" – 3:41
  3. "Bird on a Wire" – 4:28
  4. "Drip Drops" – 2:27
  5. "If You Just Didn’t Do It" – 3:40
  6. "When We Were Young" – 4:18
  7. "Alone Again" – 3:01
  8. "Down Without a Fight" – 2:54
  9. "Never Want to See Your Face Again" – 3:47
  10. "Least I Could Do" – 4:27
  11. "Old LP" – 4:22

Personnel

Credits for Old LP adapted from album liner notes.[16]

That Dog

Additional musicians

  • Lauren Baba – viola on "Old LP"
  • Melia Badalian – French horn on "Old LP"
  • Erin Barnes – bass drum on "Old LP"
  • Gordon Bash – double bass on "Drip Drops" and "Old LP"
  • Charlotte Caffey – harpsichord on "Your Machine", handclaps on "When We Were Young"
  • Paul Cartwright – violin on "Old LP"
  • Elizabeth Ellen Chorley – violin on "Old LP"
  • Rob Covacevich – flute on "Old LP"
  • Graham Coxon – guitar on "Never Want to See Your Face Again"
  • Kevin Devine – handclaps on "When We Were Young"
  • Andrew Dost – horns on "When We Were Young"
  • Brandon Encinas – viola on "Old LP"
  • Sean Franz – clarinet on "Old LP"
  • Steve Gregoropoulos – conductor on "Old LP"
  • Tanya Haden – cello on "Your Machine", "Just the Way", "Drip Drops", "Alone Again" and "Least I Could Do"
  • Leah "Daddy" Harmon – accordion on "Old LP"
  • Erik Hughes – trombone on "Old LP"
  • Josh Klinghoffer – bass drum on "Alone Again" and "Old LP", Casio SK-1 synthesizer, piano and vibraharp on "Never Want to See Your Face Again"
  • Petri Korpela – timpani on "Old LP"
  • Nate Laguzza – cymbals on "Old LP"
  • Danny Levin – flugelhorn on "Old LP"
  • Luis Mascaro – violin on "Old LP"
  • Bianca McClure – violin on "Old LP"
  • Astrid McDonald – handclaps on "When We Were Young"
  • Jeff McDonald – handclaps on "When We Were Young"
  • Fuzzbee Morse – flute on "Old LP"
  • Randy Newman – orchestration
  • Kathryn Nicole Nockels – bassoon on "Old LP"
  • Ken Oak – cello on "Old LP"
  • Corrine Olsen – viola on "Old LP"
  • Neil Rosengarden – French horn on "Old LP"
  • Maya Rudolph – vocals on "When We Were Young" and "Old LP"
  • Todd Simon – horns on "Alone Again"
  • Jacob Szekely – cello on "Old LP"
  • Andres Trujillo – tuba on "Old LP"
  • Joey Waronker – snare drum on "Old LP"
  • Kaitlin Wolfberg – violin on "Your Machine", "Just the Way", "Drip Drops", "If You Just Didn't Do It", "When We Were Young", "Alone Again", "Least I Could Do" and "Old LP", violin contractor on "Old LP"
  • Chick Wolverton – guitar on "Bird on a Wire"

Technical personnel

  • Annette Cisneros – recording on "Old LP"
  • David Juros – recording on "Old LP"
  • Ethan Mates – recording on "Your Machine" and "Never Want to See Your Face Again"
  • Steven McDonald – mixing, recording
  • Pierre de Reeder – recording on "Just the Way", "When We Were Young", "Down Without a Fight" and "Least I Could Do"
  • Jack Shirley – mastering
  • James Slater – recording on "Old LP"

See also

References
  1. Corcoran, Nina (October 4, 2019). "5 new releases we love: Wilco gets positive, Chromatics return, and more". The A.V. Club. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
  2. Colburn, Randall (August 21, 2019). "That Dog announce Old LP, the cult pop-rock outfit's first new album in 22 years". The A.V. Club. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  3. Pareles, Jon (October 2, 2019). "That Dog. Made Its First Album in 22 Years. A Lot Has Changed". The New York Times. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  4. Wood, Mikael (April 5, 2017). "Never say never? 20 years later, L.A.'s That Dog revisits 'Retreat from the Sun'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  5. Kaye, Ben (August 21, 2019). "that dog. announce first album in 22 years, Old LP, share 'If You Just Didn't Do It': Stream". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  6. Colburn, Randall (October 2, 2019). "That Dog's Three's Company-perverting new video stars Jack Black and Maya Rudolph". The A.V. Club. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  7. Helman, Peter (October 12, 2019). "Worldwide Ferric Oxide Shortage Puts A Damper On Cassette Store Day". Stereogum. Retrieved October 12, 2019.
  8. "Old LP by that dog. Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  9. Phares, Heather. "Old LP – that dog". AllMusic. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
  10. Christgau, Robert (November 13, 2019). "Consumer Guide: November, 2019". And It Don't Stop. Substack. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
  11. Wisgard, Alex (October 15, 2019). "that dog.'s Old LP is both a thrilling victory lap and an emphatic comeback". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  12. Salmon, Ben (October 17, 2019). "That Dog Sound as Fresh as Ever on Old LP". Paste. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  13. Johnston, Maura (October 10, 2019). "that dog.: Old LP". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  14. Elingburg, Scott D. (November 27, 2019). "that dog.: Old LP". Under the Radar. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  15. "that dog. – Old LP". Album of the Year. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  16. Old LP (liner notes). That Dog. UME. 2019. B0031559-02.CS1 maint: others (link)
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