Album cover for Dog on Fleas’ “I’m an Optimist”
One way I think about the New York band Dog on Fleas is as kindie comfort food with a twist — japaleno mac ‘n’ cheese, perhaps, or an orange chicken burrito. Kindie music uberproducer Dean Jones and bandmates John Hughes and Chris Cullo produce music that families want to settle down with all comfy-like but with a musical (or lyrical) perspective that’s ever-so-slightly askew from the standard.
Dog on Fleas have a brand new album titled I’m an Optimist coming out on November 8th. (That’s the cover art to the side, done by Cindy Hoose in collaboration with Jacinta Bunnell and Michael Wilcock.) A dozen tracks of Fleas goodness/weirdness. (Check out the video for “Doppelgänger” for an excellent example of “goodness/weirdness,” more so on the lyrical side of the equation.)
I am super-happy, then, to offer you the world-premiere stream of the title track, “I’m an Optimist.” The song is about leaning towards thinking about positive things, but if you think it’s going to be a sappy message song, you’d be wrong. The music takes the lead, a horn-filled R&B track that is really hard not to smile and bop along with. Let’s just say that when the (light) message kicks in, the brain is in a very receptive mode to hear that message. The family’ll enjoy this one.
Dog on Fleas - “I’m an Optimist” [Soundcloud]
