CD Revue: Dogs Die In Hot Cars- Please Describe Yourself

Glasgow's Dogs Die in Hot Cars have absolutely the worst band name in history at least when it comes to bands that are actual good. For all the retro 80s dance pop coming out of the UK these days Dogs Die in Hot Cars are the only band that wouldn't sound some how out of place on a Top 40 radio station in 1985. In fact, if you heard them on with out knowing who they were you'd like think they were some great 80s new wave band you missed out. They wear their retro influences (XTC, Squeeze, Big Country, Talking Heads) on their sleeve and new wave producers Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley (Madness, Dexy's Midnight Runners, Elvis Costello) take it to the next level of retroness. Songwriter and lead singer Craig Macintosh has fantastic sense of melody and the lyrics deftly straddle between smart and dumb. Macintosh's voice is a unique mix of Stuart Adamson of Big Country and Andy Partridge of XTC. The first track "I Love You 'Cause I Have To" is a subpar song with boring ska riff but the rest of the album is a delight. My favorite song is "Lounger", a hideously catchy ode to unemployment and laziness. It's clearly Headstart's 2004 anthem. Dogs Die in Hot Cars may not have the edge of some their peers (Franz Ferdinand, The Futureheads) but it's probably the best album of 80s new wave since David Bowie's Let's Dance.