Dog Is Dead: Don't blame us for the death of your dog
DOG Is Dead are being blamed by grieving pet owners for the demise of their dearly departed furry friends.
The mild-mannered Nottingham boys admit their macabre moniker has caused quite a stir, not least among heartbroken canine lovers.
Speaking after the band's Biz Session, singer/guitarist Robert Milton said: "Sometimes it takes people a while to get their head around our name.
"It's definitely been a talking point since day one. I like to think that we were quite tactical at 16 when we turned this private joke into a band name.
"You get some raised eyebrows, and that's always quite nice.
NOTTINGHAM band perform excellent new single from their debut album All Our Favourite Stories
"But I feel really bad when people come up to me and say, 'My dog died last week.' I'm like, 'It's not my fault.' There's no threat or intention there. We don't have a problem with dogs."
Although their name may be better suited to a thrash metal band, they're actually a five-piece indie pop act with a penchant for melody, harmony and invention rather than distorted riffs and satanic growls.
Then again, Robert and his keyboardist mate Joss Van Wilder had very different ideas when they formed the band at school at the age of 13.
"We wanted to be a grunge band," recalled Robert.
"We really loved Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins. That's what brought the band together."
School's not out ... Dog Is Dead
DAVE HOGAN
They're currently on their "third gap year", having plugged away touring and writing after their A-levels.
Not that they have any real intention of furthering their education at university following the release of their debut album All Our Favourite Stories.
The band – who performed new single Teenage Daughter, album track Talk Through The Night and a cover of Rudimental hit Feel The Love at their Biz Session – have come a long way since playing minor college gigs for their drunk pals.
Bassist Lawrence 'Trev' Cole explained: "All our friends would come to our shows – just to go somewhere to have a drink and see their mates."
FIVE-piece play track from their debut album All Our Favourite Stories, which was released last month
"People used our gigs as an excuse for a party," Robert continued.
"After a while, you can get some of those people to come to a normal pub gig in Nottingham.
"Eventually, more people would come to listen to our music.
"From there, we relentlessly played in London and different places in the UK. We created enough attention to force the wider industry to not ignore us anymore."
The songs on their album chart the band's rise from a group that formed to perform at a school talent show to indie's latest big pop hope.
Robert explained: "There are songs on the record that are four, five years old and there are some that are five or six months old.
Graft ... Dog Is Dead frontman Robert Milton
DAVE HOGAN
"It's a weird balance but it's been cool growing up and writing a record at the same time.
"The album tells its own natural story. Each song dates back to a particular place and time to what I was doing and what I was thinking.
"It was interesting piecing it together – how much sense it made was quite astounding."
Unlike some of their debauched contemporaries, don't expect Dog Is Dead to throw TVs out of hotel room windows or end up in rehab with addiction issues.
Trev said: "We're not one of these bands that's gonna go on the road and come back with a story like, 'Rob jumped out of a tree and fell onto a statue and ripped his arm off and then sowed it back on again.'
BAND play chart-topping Rudimental track, covered by Newton Faulkner and The Milk in past Biz Sessions
"We have literally spent the last five years hanging around with ourselves so we've developed this intricate web of inside jokes."
Robert added: "We have a lot of fun but in the most ridiculous ways – not in a clichéd Guns 'N Roses way.
"We have our own language. People find it a bit daunting if they're in the environment where we're all together.
"Meeting one or two of us is fine, but if they're in our space they're like, 'Woah, what is going on?'"
Dog Is Dead's debut album All Our Favourite Stories is out now.
New single Teenage Daughter is out on December 17.
Making their mark ... Dog Is Dead
DAVE HOGAN
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