Fat Dog - Cancel Me (I’m Tired) Review
WOOF WOOF.
Fat Dog promoted their album in the most Fat Dog way possible: knocking on strangers’ doors and asking if they’d heard of the Brixton band, looking like missionaries spreading the word. If there’s a secret venue in South London, Fat Dog have probably played there. Their South Bermondsey pop-up show, the week after Radio Free Alice played the same location, went down a storm, as did their stealth, guerrilla ‘not-football’ shows over the summer at the Brixton Windmill, a place they love playing. Now, with the new material out there, Fat Dog turn their attention to pushing beyond the post-punk confines of WOOF. into something that never stands still.
It feels wrong to listen to a Fat Dog record sitting still on the morning commute instead of being hurled ten feet into the air by a crowd. Frontman Joe Love has an effortless energy, charm and likeability, alongside sheer unhinged charisma. It takes a certain kind of nerve to show up at Kneecap’s all-Irish bill at Crystal Palace Park in an England shirt and throw yourself into the crowd, apparently intent on starting a brawl. At first glance, the album’s fixation on cancellation might seem a little try-hard, but there’s a knowing irony beneath it: the witty, self-aware humour Fat Dog are known for, backed by the musicianship of Chris Hughes, Morgan Wallace and Ellis D.
It is, predictably, a mess. But it’s a purposeful mess of thunderous proportions, combining dance-punk, industrial disco and arena-ready anthems. These songs feel purpose-built for the band’s festival appearances and transition to headline shows at O2 Academy Brixton. There are shades of Dexys Midnight Runners here, with quirky wordplay running alongside love lives and personal struggles. ‘Smile and Wave’ is aggressive, its mantra of ‘You’re riding forward and I’m riding back’ accompanied by a title that brings to mind the penguins from Madagascar. Then we’re in party mode, with Fat Dog’s carnival puppet master Joe Love pulling the strings. ‘GO FUCK URSELF’ makes its declaration loud and clear before leading into title track ‘Cancel Me’, and what a lead-in it is.
The energy is enormous, turning industrial rock anthems into something equally suited to a nightclub or a gritty warehouse. These are live songs: built to start pits, packed with choruses and bright synths, and driven by a groove that suits the band incredibly well. Those who have followed Fat Dog since their Windmill days know what to expect: mayhem. Anyone hoping for a more traditional post-punk record might be disappointed, but Fat Dog have never promised to be IDLES or Fontaines D.C. They are Fat Dog: brave, fearless, stupid, all those words combined, wrapped up in a firestarter of a show that swings for the fences.
‘Heart of Darkness’ and ‘Shit Love’ offer more coherent, intimate explorations of love and romance. There’s vulnerability here, with Fat Dog laying their hearts bare beneath the bravado and gunslinger swagger. These songs give the second half of the album room to show another side of the band before ‘Bad Dog’ and ‘The Devil’ return us to more familiar territory. ‘Bad Dog’ already feels like a live staple. ‘I’m a bad dog, put me down if you please…’ Love howls, and we’re off and running again.
When Fat Dog are left unchecked, there are few bands more thrilling, and nobody seems able to rein that tempo in. Anyone who has experienced one of their shows will know there’s little chance of keeping them under control. Their recent End of the Road set, where Love was unleashed on the unsuspecting Pulp barricaders, showed a band at the top of their game. Festivals have the opportunity to do something very funny next summer: put Fat Dog on before a big-name pop act and watch them jolt the crowd into life. In their hands, there’s no such thing as a dead crowd.