2014-03-02
If the lyrics on this album are at all autobiographical, then Ron Pope doesn't have much luck with the ladies as each song on Calling Off The Dogs deals with the loss and lamentation of relationships (or different stages of the same one).
Poppy harmonies on the opening tracks Lick My Wounds and Empty Page transport the listener back to the 80's and trivialize the depth of the album's lyrical content. However Pope - born 1983 and raised in the Atlanta, GA suburb of Marietta - demonstrates more mature songwriting on the orchestral Push Me Away and Back to Bed, a Midwest tale of loss which even an electronic clap track fails to spoil.
Ron Pope manages to at times both delight and depress with this moody collection of songs which will appeal to fans of Jason Mraz and John Wesley.
Stand-out tracks: Push Me Away (6), Back to Bed (9)
...AND YOU WILL KNOW US BY THE TRAIL OF DEAD
The Century of Self
Connan Mockasin
Caramel
NEW YORK DOLLS
DANCING BACKWARD IN HIGH HEELS
AQUALUNG
Words and Music
The Concretes
In Colour
Sarah Borges & The Broken Singles
Diamonds In The Dark
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