Dr. Dog

We All Belong (Park the Van)

“The thing the Sixties did was to show us the possibilities and the responsibility that we all had.” So said John Lennon, and Dr. Dog, in their continued mining of the Beatles’ every beat, fully embraces those nostalgic possibilities on their fourth and most polished release, We All Belong. With utopian harmonies, pounding piano rhythms, and lazy summer guitars, the ragtag Philadelphia outfit bounces through an “Octopus’s Garden” of excellently executed pastiche (“The Girl,” “Ain’t It Strange”), at times even pruning from classic R&B (“Keep a Friend”) and slow-burn Seventies folk-rock (“Alaska”). While the album revels in retro cross-pollination, and the title track’s dream that “It won’t be long before we all belong to love,” echoes Lennon’s counterpoint of responsibility throughout, Dr. Dog’s zealous frivolity is infectious but ultimately fleeting. Their idealism can’t ignore the real world any more than the group can sustain a sound based largely on appropriation.

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This article appears in April 13 • 2007.

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Doug Freeman has been writing for the Austin Chronicle since 2007, covering the arts and music scene in the city. He is originally from Virginia and earned his Masters Degree from the University of Texas. He is also co-editor of The Austin Chronicle Music Anthology, published by UT Press.