Track Dogs had two radio hits in Ireland in 2016.
By Colleen Taylor
“Groovy” is not a word I often use in this column, but that’s just the adjective I need to describe Madrid-based Irish band the Track Dogs. Forgive the Sixties slang, but lately, I’ve been digging on Track Dogs’ recent release “Serenity Sessions.” Released at the end of last year, the album is rhythmic, soulful and simply cool. This is indie-acoustic arranged with a hippie flair.
The name Track Dogs might be familiar to New Yorkers. The band takes its nomenclature from the nickname for maintenance workers who spend their days working on the underground tracks of the subway. And just like New York City itself, the Track Dogs are a melting pot of nationalities. The quartet is made up of two Irishmen, an Englishman and an American.
In addition to their unique international identity, the Track Dogs have a number of idiosyncratic trademarks. For instance, this acoustic quartet plays the Cajon, the flamenco box set drums, rather than regular percussion drums. And as for that soulful feeling I was describing above, that comes from the band’s selection of trumpet and cello. Finally, it’s the four-man harmonization that brings their well-rehearsed, signature sound home.
The Track Dogs are, more or less, a still relatively unknown group name, but they’re no stranger to the radio. Last year in 2016, they had two big hits on Irish radio: “Love Me Like You Used To” and “To the End,” both of which come from “Serenity Sessions.” BBC featured the latter as well. This third studio album seems to be making the band’s fame. This St. Patrick’s Day, they played a fitting venue, the Troubadour in London—an old-fashioned 1950s coffee house and music club.
When it comes to “Serenity Sessions,” I’m partial to the toe-tapping, hip-swaying “Love Me Like You Do.” It puts forth an infectious, feel-good beat, complete with a bluesy twang. I’m also a fan of “Only Human,” which marries a number of interesting influences. The track combines folksy acoustic with highlights of boy band-like harmonies, and even some Irish traditional flute. The band’s music on “Serenity Sessions” is, like the band of ex-pats, an eclectic cultural crossover.
Other music critics have classified “Track Dogs” as Americana, but I don’t know if that qualification is quite right. I don’t deny that Ireland has produced a number of incredible, top talent Americana bands, the Whileaways and We Banjo 3 among them. Track Dogs, however, sound different. There is something very modern about them, but that’s not just it. Their vocals even remind me of U2 at moments, particularly the lead singer. And then, when the sax hits, the lads jump over to jazz.
They may use Americana instruments to produce their sound, but the ultimate product is something that, for me, lies just outside the realm of the Americana genre. In other words, I’d label Track Dogs, and especially their album “Serenity Sessions,” as chameleonic. They are “genre-shifters,” so to speak, who belong in a different section of your music library depending on the track. Last but not least, I have this intuitive tendency to imaginatively root their sound in mid-20th century New York music clubs. It has that genuine coolness and innovativeness about it. It’s only fitting, then, that their name alludes to a city as amorphous as their own style.
Track Dogs is a band first and foremost for the Irish-American baby boomers. But their fan base shouldn’t stop there: Americana listeners, folk fans, and others will find something to entertain them in the miscellaneous album “Serenity Sessions.” You’ll find something familiar-sounding that simultaneously upends your musical presumptions.
