On July 29, just ahead of the band’s summer tour dates, Merge will reissue A Giant Dog’s first two full-lengths—2012’s Fight and 2013’s Bone—worldwide on limited-edition colored vinyl, reintroducing the world to the quintet Spoon’s Britt Daniel calls “the greatest American rock and roll / punk band since I don’t know when.”
Celebrating its tenth birthday in 2022 is A Giant Dog Fight, the Texas group’s hard-to-find debut album, remixed by Stuart Sikes from the original tape, remastered by Dan Coutant, and pressed on green vinyl just for the occasion. All the trademark tenets of AGD lore are on display at the jump: monstrously adorable album art and punny title, whip-smart songwriting dolled up in denim and leather, boiled down to the sweetest moments and blown out to the masses with bravado to spare. Upon Fight’s original release, the local Austin Chronicle raved: “The raucous, low-rent squall quakes with affirmative abandon, while a just-right dose of pop girds the buzz and yowl. As such, these 15 songs on vinyl resonate well beyond the group’s chosen genre lines.”
Recording for the first time with a proper producer (Mike McCarthy) in a proper environment (a studio lol), A Giant Dog Bone, on pink vinyl for the reissue, still manages to kool-aid man its way through the speakers with the immediacy of the band’s live shows, a hit parade for the party people. Sabrina Ellis and Andrew Cashen add another baker’s dozen tunes to the band’s repertoire just a year following their debut, with songs like “All I Wanted,” “Dammit Pomegranate,” and “Another World” cementing them as a conspicuous songwriting duo.
A Giant Dog on tour:
July 29 Austin, TX – The Mohawk
Aug 03 New Orleans, LA – Banks St. Bar
Aug 04 Atlanta, GA – The Earl
Aug 05 Nashville, TN – The Basement (Get Happier Fridays)
Aug 06 Charlotte, NC – Snug Harbor
Aug 07 Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle
Aug 08 Richmond, VA – Get Tight Lounge
Aug 09 Baltimore, MD – Metro Gallery
Aug 10 Philadelphia, PA – Johnny Brenda’s
Aug 12 Pittsburgh, PA – Cattivo
Aug 13 Millersville, PA – Phantom Power
Aug 14 Brooklyn, NY – TV Eye
Aug 16 Cleveland, OH – Beachland Ballroom
Aug 17 Detroit, MI – Smalls
Aug 18 Chicago, IL – Empty Bottle
Aug 19 Milwaukee, WI – The Cooperage
Aug 20 St. Paul, MN – Amsterdam Bar & Hall
Aug 21 Kansas City, MO – Record Bar
Aug 23 Tulsa, OK – Mercury Lounge
Aug 24 Oklahoma City, OK – Pony Boy
Aug 25 Dallas, TX – Three Links
Aug 26 Houston, TX – Secret Group
Aug 27 San Antonio, TX – Paper Tiger
