Coat of Arms

VINYL FORMAT. "Of all genre descriptions, I suspect that "pop-rock" may be the least useful. I've used it to try and describe bands in the past, and I've always found it entirely lacking -- no surprise, since it takes not just one, but two enormous, wide-ranging genres, and crams them together in a term that doesn't really have a lot of meaning. Or, at least, that's the case most of the time. When it comes to a band like The Golden Dogs, however, it seems to be entirely appropriate. After all, as they show throughout Coat of Arms, their songs are ridiculously catchy, but still hard enough that they can't be classed pure pop. For that matter, a comparison like The New Pornographers doesn't seem to work either, since -- as tracks like "Permanent Record" and "Dark Room" demonstrate -- The Golden Dogs have a bit of an edge that you don't really find on albums like Twin Cinema or Together (apart from maybe the Dan Bejar songs). Even when Coat of Arms reaches back to the '70s for inspiration (see songs like "As Long As You Like" or "Burst"), it does so in a way that's less sugary ear candy, and more rocking out. However you want to classify them, and whatever vague descriptors you want to use, it really all comes down to one simple fact: Coat of Arms is really, really good. The Golden Dogs may not be an easy band to write about, but there's no denying the fact that it's difficult to not want to listen to them again, and again, and again." – I Heart Music