Sir Chloe - I Am The Dog

Starting life as frontwoman Dana Foote’s university work and finding a mass audience via a viral TikTok moment, there’s much of Sir Chloe that’s decidedly 21st Century. Yet it’s the ‘90s to which most of debut ‘I Am The Dog’ looks: it’s grungy, it’s shoegazey, it’s weird. It’s not afraid to go off-piste. It’s full of guitar lines that are simultaneously super clean and gut-wrenching. Opening tracks ‘Should I’ and ‘Salivate’ are a bold introduction, offering up dirty riffs and slick hooks. Take a sharp right turn and ‘Center’ possesses a beautiful and gentle melody with a hint of surf-rock woven in. There’s another contrast in ‘Know Better’, a fantastic pop tune with both layers of cacophony and a hint of Wet Leg. Dana Foote’s vocals shine as the record progresses: ‘Obsession’ and title track ‘I Am The Dog’ feel warm and anthemic - the harmonies and piano switch-up on the latter a particular joy. Sir Chloe have perfectly grasped the entire concept of anticipation, building up and dropping out at the flick of a switch, never sticking to the status quo. A solid record.