Leatherface – Dog Disco – Review

Leatherface

Dog Disco (BYO)
by Tim Den

After a four-year absence, Leatherface sound not a heartbreak less than their prime on Dog Disco: 14 newbies of swirling/gruff vocals and palm-muted/exquisitely picked guitars. Yes, those are contradictions, but if you know Leatherface, you know that the band have made a career out of combining opposites. As ferocious in sonics as any punk band, Leatherface never forget the humanity in street anthems; the morning after a night out. As sandpaper-like as guitarist/vocalist Frankie Stubbs’ voice sounds, it packs just as much Waitsian reflection and tragedy as any lament. On Dog Disco, the songs are still about loudness as much as tenderness, big guitars as much as complex arpeggios, defense as much as confession. And every chord change still reaches right into your chest and tickles your soul. One of the only punk bands that has never let age effect its creativity, Dog Disco is a fine addition to the already-legendary catalog of Leatherface.
(PO Box 67609 Los Angeles, CA 90067)