Dog Eared Moonlight

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Sample Album
Dog Eared Moonlight album cover
Album Information

Total Tracks: 10   Total Length: 42:38

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What's not to like?

ScissorMan

On first listening to this album I was slightly disappointed, because I'd loved their first one and was hoping for more of the same. This album is decidedly more melancholy and wistful than the first, but after a few more listens I've grown to love it too, though people with an aversion to pedal-steel guitars might want to skip tracks 6 and 9 (though #9 has a very nice chorus). In addition, the 30-second previews don't do the album justice, since many of the songs take slightly over a minute to get to the more hook-laden choruses and middle-bits. Lyrically, most of the songs seem to be about lost love and loneliness, not that this is necessarily bad. Meanwhile, fans of the Ape label who are looking for Partridgesque tunes might want to start with the more pastoral "Maryfaith Autumn," and also the pop gem "Absolutely Wrong," probably the song that's most like the material on the first album. The hypnotic pre-release track, "Disappear," is another highlight.

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They Say All Music Guide

The Milk and Honey Band might be British, but on their fourth album, they sound more like an American act, or at least one heavily influenced by U.S. alternative rock and Americana. Singer/songwriter Robert White has an earnest tone in line with many rock vocalists, with some similarity to R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe. The temperature of his compositions doesn’t get too high or too low, whether he’s delivering a folky tune with some slight late Beatles/British psych-folk-rock flavors (“Just You,” one of the strongest tracks, and the more delicate and elaborately arranged “Maryfaith Autumn”) or a more standard chord-driven midtempo rocker. Additional attention is paid to varying the accents with some country-ish instrumentation on “No World at All” and “Cut the Line.” Albums of material that dips into this sort of well tend to be a little too similar in tone from cut to cut to be of outstanding caliber, and Dog Eared Moonlight isn’t an exception in that regard. Though crafted with extreme care and competence, its mix of plaintive melodies with a mildly wistful and brooding lyrical outlook is more acceptably pleasant than outstanding. – Richie Unterberger

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