#2466: Fat Dog – Vigilante

Well, here you go. The only album missing in this list of 31 incredible album releases of 2024. It’s not really a surprise, is it? Perhaps I gave it away by highlighting each and every Fat Dog release leading up to this album on the blog this year already. Safe to say, this one totally lived up to the expectations. If anything, ‘WOOF.’ turned out to be a fascinating album full of wit, surprises, and fun. It is my pleasure to announce Jam of Today’s Album of the Year 2024: Fat Dog – ‘WOOF.’

And you know, if it wasn’t for those mind blowing single releases, it may have just been for the 4 times I’ve seen this band live this year. Each gig better than the one before. Fat Dog grabbed me by the neck ever since I saw them play live during Eurosonic in January of this year, back then only having released singles ‘King of the Slugs’ and ‘All The Same’ (the latter being released 1 week before the festival). Shows in London (Electric Brixton and Wide Awake Festival) and Haldern Pop Festival made me realise this band truly is something special, with the crowd’s reception being outstanding at each of these places. Fan favourites ‘Running’, ‘Wither’, and Fat Dog’s very own rendition of Benny Benassi’s ‘Satisfaction’ mesmerised the crowd like never before.

‘WOOF.’ is a brilliantly written piece of content. It is dance punk done all over again, recycling only its best core elements to revive this genre right back into modern day’s music landscape. Barging in like a long lost cousin on your uncle’s 60th birthday party. “Here I am again. Did you miss me?” And before you realise you did, you get sucked in by its captivating tales. Tales of clowns, crackheads, kings and slugs. A surrealistic saga, a spiel by the Dog. And by the time you reach the end and wonder what in God’s name you have just listened to, you think back of that first sentence that has been spewed all over you by this scripture: “It’s fucking Fat Dog, baby.” And it’s fucking Album of the Year.

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  1. jono Avatar
    jono

    I first encountered Fat Dog in the humid summer air at Haldern Pop 2024. There was something almost ritualistic in their chaos; the yelping vocals, the feverish drums, the crowd moving as one sweaty, ecstatic organism. When I later immersed myself in their debut album WOOF, that same raw, untamed spirit coursed through my speakers, filtered through something that feels both exciting and familiar.

    Let me be clear: WOOF is a riot. From its opening track, it’s an invitation to dance, scream, and shed your inhibitions. The production thrums with a DIY ferocity. Guitars snarling like wild animals, and rhythms that mimic a heartbeat gone wild. However, as I nearly lose myself in its frenzy, I can’t deny the sense that I’ve walked this path before; Fat Dog’s sound owes debts to the post-punk pioneers and electro-punk adventurers of the past decades. The angular riffs, the barked vocals, the apocalyptic disco beats.. it’s all thrilling, but not revolutionary. The band’s genius lies in execution, not innovation.

    Having witnessed their Haldern set, I also have to admit: WOOF’s studio cuts lack the magic of their live show. But as a standalone work, it’s a potent elixir. WOOF won’t rewrite the book of modern punk, yet it’s something I’ll return to when I need reminding that music can still make me feel alive. And that’s quite an achievement.

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