Friday 15/12/06 Dogs @ Proud Gallery, Camden

Taking a break from the studio where they’re currently recording their as-yet-untitled second album, Dogs are playing to a full, but very diverse audience at Camden’s Proud tonight (Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster will later grace the stage with their kaleidoscopic urgent racket). Until their recent tour and new single ‘Soldier On’ things have been uncomfortably quiet from the band this year, but judging by the rapturous applause they receive after their opening classic ‘London Bridge’, spirits have picked up again since signing to Weekender Records.

The evening’s set is rammed full of old numbers- the crowd go so wild in ‘End Of An Era’ that the floorboards start to bounce under the weight of people stomping to this tune; just as they are to the new numbers like ‘Soldier On’. In fact, so much so, a Proud gallery organiser gets in a fluster flapping his arms at the crowd to calm down. Standout new song ‘Little Pretenders’ is sheer brilliance - it’s fast, it’s furious and shows another side to the band as they move away from the traditional mod-tinged sound associated with them. It also incorporates freer guitar sounds that add more of a rock edge into their music. With each track, Proud gets rowdier and rowdier until there’s and explosion of whistles, claps and screams as Dogs finish and walk off stage.

It’s official, Dogs are back and they’re tighter, more mature and have come a long way since their last album.