CD reviews: Dr. Dog, Laura Bell Bundy

April 12, 2010 at 9:32PM

POP/ROCK

Dr. Dog, "Shame, Shame" (Anti-)

This 11-year-old Philly indie-rock band is feeling its age. "Where'd All the Time Go?" is not only a song title but a recurring notion here. Perhaps Dr. Dog is identifying too closely with its main sources: the Beatles, the Beach Boys and the Band. Or perhaps Dr. Dog is evolving as it moves from its previous home recordings to a professional studio. But in the new songs, melancholy thoughts about time, decline and limitations are neatly refuted by music that's full of life. The structures are elaborate, with vocal chorales and counterpoint blossoming as instrumental timbres transmute from acoustic realism to a psychedelic shimmer. Yet Dr. Dog gives its songs a casual, homely surface; it has perfected the imperfections that make indie-rock approachable.

The band performs Saturday at the Fine Line.

JON PARELES, NEW YORK TIMES

COUNTRY

Laura Bell Bundy, "Achin' and Shakin'" (Mercury)

The single "Giddy on Up" plays like a mini-musical, overexuberant and distracting, with Broadway star Bundy relying on her old skill set to do her new job. It's a relief then that her first major CD is far calmer. It's split into halves: "Giddy on Up" is on the shakin' side, which is weaker, chaotic and a little glib. On the achin' side, Bundy is relaxed. Those songs force her to exhale, revealing a lovely voice with alluring nooks and crannies that need no adornment. The slowly sauntering "Cigarette" has echoes of Lee Ann Womack's updated classic country, and Bundy is best on "Curse the Bed," which sounds as if sung after a couple of sleepless nights.

JON CARAMANICA, NEW YORK TIMES

about the writer