The artful distress and milk glass decay of "The Leader" by Bedford UK's Dog Race, even apart from the provocative cinematic and rusty edges of the official video, emotionally churns in your tummy like an ache that somehow makes you feel as high as it does make you feel queasy. This kind of art induced adrenaline, the stuff of Ari Aster fever dreams and a number of Daniel Day Lewis film performances has heightened emotional buttons that Dog Race expertly pushes. It is not all opaque, there is a kind of cabaret punk element to my ears, visions of Ron Mael doing his slack armed dance in the dark as if chasing you but he stays, thankfully, in one place grinning. Embedded within the carnival keys progression, the sort of vintage synths, the highly dramatic constant moving guitar jags and runaway bass / drums dance, attitudinally I thought of the dark, social commentary and absurdist stations of both Sparks and Diamanda Galás in a collaborative collision.
Now let's speak about lead singer Katie Healy's absolutely mesmerizing vocal performance. Her vocal character and style is one of a kind and I would be hard pressed to use any one artist as a descriptor or reference but maybe an amalgam of artists like Jet Witchalls of Visible Damage, Lena Lovich, Lizzy Mercier Descloux, Sienna Bordello of Black Bordello, Diamanda Galás and PJ Harvey feels right. In any event, she has the kind of vocal countenance that stays with you, I mean for days later like the most interesting flavor you have tasted hangs on.
LINER NOTES about "The Leader":
On the track, lead singer Katie Healy says it represents a pivotal point in her last relationship – when it was beginning to become stifling. “I know that it’s my fault, but then it’s not, but then it is again” perfectly represents that internal struggle with yourself when a relationship is coming to an end, and these lyrics, coupled with the electronic sound of the track, feel cathartic, in many ways.
[Outro]
To find salvation, there is a premium
For your atonement, there is a premium
Become the martyr, there is a premium
For all redemption, there is a premium
To find salvation, there is a premium
For your atonement, there is a premium
Become the martyr, there is a premium
For all redemption, there is a premium
To find salvation, there is a premium (To find salvation)
For your atonement, there is a premium (There is a premium)
Become the martyr, there is a premium
For all redemption, there is a premium
To find salvation, there is a premium (There is a premium, there is a premium)
(There is a premium)
I've got a meeting with the leader"
"The Leader" in its totality and with lyrics that are killer curious, like spun spider web fables, providing tenuous emotional connections that make make us want to ask questions. The artful vagueness whether (maybe) drenched in familial trauma or mixed metaphors or stamped into poetic license plates makes it so much better that the standard fare out there.
As a slightly jaded music writer it is so wonderful to be continually gobsmacked by the breadth and scope of Dog Race.
-Robb Donker Curtius
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM
https://www.instagram.com/dograceband
https://www.facebook.com/dograceband
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6S1Atlrs5E
Bedford's Dog Race believe in the power of patience, having built a feverous word of mouth buzz locally and for a series of mysterious, often last-minute DIY shows across London. On the 15th August they released their claustrophobic debut single "Terror", as strong a first release as you'll hear anywhere this year. "Terror" was produced by Jessica Winter (Pregoblin, Jazmin Bean) and mixed by Jon McMullen (Wet Leg).
Grandma faked a heart attack just to have a conversation
She said the Lord came to visit at her kitchen table
But He marked His word that it's not her time to follow
I think she's okay, I'm sure I read it in the mail
[Pre-Chorus]
Calling a cab, hands draped in a mozzetta
"To the other side, I've got a meeting with the leader"
[Chorus]
I've got a meeting with the leader
I've got a meeting with the leader
Grandma made the cat eyes growl as they gained momentum
Rattling likе a pound in a washdrum engine
Peering off her shouldеr for an eighteen-wheeler
I think she's okay, I'm sure I'll read it in the paper
[Pre-Chorus]
Riding a cab, hands draped in a mozzetta
"To the other side, I've got a meeting with the leader"
[Chorus]
I've got a meeting with the leader
To find salvation, there is a premium
I've got a meeting with the leader
To find salvation, there is a premium
[Bridge]
I put a pound on a Plus Tard, he's won eight times
I bought myself the Thunderball, I got ten lines
I spin the slots at Ha'penny Pier, I've got three tries
I put a pound on a plus tard, he's won eight times
I bought myself the Thunderball, I got ten lines
I spin the slots at Ha'penny Pier, I've got three tries
I've got a meeting with the leader
[Outro]
To find salvation, there is a premium
For your atonement, there is a premium
Become the martyr, there is a premium
For all redemption, there is a premium
To find salvation, there is a premium
For your atonement, there is a premium
Become the martyr, there is a premium
For all redemption, there is a premium
To find salvation, there is a premium (To find salvation)
For your atonement, there is a premium (There is a premium)
Become the martyr, there is a premium
For all redemption, there is a premium
To find salvation, there is a premium (There is a premium, there is a premium)
(There is a premium)
I've got a meeting with the leader
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