If you want a sense of some of the changes in White Dog‘s sound as the Austin-based ’70s-style heavy rockers make ready to unfurl their second full-length, Double Dog Dare, on April 5 with the backing of respected purveyor Rise Above Records, you don’t need to look far. The cover art is below. Check that logo. Then go ahead and dip back to their 2020 self-titled debut (review here) and take a look at that one — to make that easier, click here to pop out the image (click again to close) — then go ahead and listen to “F.D.I.C.,” streaming at the bottom of this post. Definitely some departure from the boogie and a bit of Southern-ish pastoralism in the melody of the new single, and the aesthetic of the new cover bears that out. Perhaps a little more ’74 than ’71, but then, time marches on.

A partially revamped lineup brings Jake LaTouf to the lead vocal role and Oscar Favian to keyboard, but personnel is only part of the shift being discussed here, and southbound seems like it might be just one of the directions Double Dog Dare ultimately heads. I don’t know about you, but I look forward to hearing this band do a radio jingle. They’re west of the Mississippi River, so I assume the call letters start with ‘K.’

The PR wire puts it all together:

Texan Rockers WHITE DOG Drop New Single “F.D.I.C.”

New Album ‘Double Dog Dare’ Out April 5th via Rise Above Records

Pre-Order HERE: https://riseaboverecords.com/product/double-dog-dare/

Texan rockers WHITE DOG share “F.D.I.C.” the first single from their upcoming new album ‘Double Dog Dare’ which is due out on April 5th via Rise Above Records.

Returning after three years with their second studio album, ‘Double Dog Dare’, WHITE DOG has been reveling in a state of creative flux and is poised to share their revelations with the world.

“To say that we’ve gone through some changes in the last three years would be an understatement,” says drummer John Amoss. “After the release of our debut album, we had to make some tough decisions, one of them being the decision to replace our friend and original frontman, Joe Sterling. We also knew that we wanted to add organ and keyboards permanently. It took a long time to find the right players but finally, enter the new kids, our singer Jake LaTouf and Oscar Favian on keys.”

Recorded over a period of eight days at Stuart Sikes Audio (with engineer Andrew McCalla) in Austin, ‘Double Dog Dare’ takes all of their debut album’s deftly assembled ingredients and allows them to fly free, liberated from expectation. At times mellower than its predecessor, at others strident and ferocious, these new songs showcase WHITE DOG’s organic development, with elements of everything from wistful southern rock to crusty-eyed jazz rock finding a place. Somehow even more fluid and fiery than before, this band is growing and expanding before our ears.

“We learned a lot from recording our first record,” says John. “I’d say the biggest difference this go-round was that we were more focused and aware in the creative process. Early on we agreed that we wanted to add elements of southern music to the mix while still maintaining the core of our original sound. I’d be lying if I said everything just fell into place easily! We put our hearts and souls into these tunes. So in the end we felt like we were going into the studio with a solid group of songs.”

From thrilling, souled-out opener “Holy Smokes” to the gritty country rock of “Glenn’s Tune” and the meandering psych-prog blowout of album centerpiece “Frozen Shadows”, ‘Double Dog Dare’ is alive with great ideas and heartfelt authenticity. With a settled and refreshed line-up of Amoss, his guitarist brother Carl, bassist Rex Pape, guitarist Clemente De Hoyos, new vocalist Jake LaTouf, and keyboard maestro Oscar Favian, WHITE DOG have transcended their original ethos and have become an even richer and more addictive proposition. Both avowedly true to the bone and blessed with a gift for mischief, they have made an album that stands shoulder to shoulder with the classic records that inspired it, while also bringing the Texans’ uniquely skewed view of the world to the party.

“The subject matter of these songs is pretty eclectic, to be honest” notes John. “Let’s see… there’s a song about a bank heist and another one about the Vietnam War. Then there’s one about draining an old lake! ‘Glenn’s Tune’ is about Rex’s late father. Hell, we even did a radio jingle. So yeah we are kinda all over the place ha ha ha!”

‘Double Dog Dare’ Track List:
1) Holy Smokes
2) Double Dog Dare
3) F.D.I.C.
4) Glenn’s Tune
5) A Message From Our Sponsor
6) Frozen Shadows
7) Lady of Mars
8) Prelude
9) The Last ‘Dam’ Song

Still unique and rocking with abandon, WHITE DOG has undergone upheavals and transformations, and ‘Double Dog Dare’ is the scintillating result. Now free to peddle their incendiary wares, they will return to the stage with their strongest material to date, and a newfound enthusiasm for giving The Riff the respect and imagination it deserves.

“The plan right now is to get on the road as much as possible in 2024,” John states. “The touring that we have done has yielded really good results but there’s a whole world out there that we would like to see! What better way to do it than playing music with your buds? Currently, we are way beyond ready to release this puppy and to tour, tour, tour! We are always writing and evolving as people and as a band. Who knows exactly what tomorrow will bring? What we do know is that we love each other like brothers and we love making music together.”

White Dog are:
Carl Amoss – guitar
John Amoss – drums
Oscar Favian – keys
Clemente De Hoyos – guitar
Jake LaTouf – vocals
Rex Pape – bass

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White Dog, “F.D.I.C.”