Blank Dogs – Untitled [Daggerman]

So I was thinking about how I’ve never written anything about Blank Dogs and how this record is still in print and how, if this is at all limited, there’s something wrong with that. If it’s not limited, then Daggerman has my total respect for keeping this landmark achievement in music history in print. Blank Dogs is a pseudo-anonymous person, I’m told, and he writes lots of really good songs with a huge portion of them being good enough to call really fucking good songs. The dude is prolific as shit even though he’s only in his second year of releasing stuff, I wouldn’t bat a lash if some dashing label put out a Blank Dogs greatest hits triple LP. To paraphrase Dirk Diggler, his stuff is that good!
Anyway, this 45 is probably his most solid release in my eyes. I’ve heard it called “In a Web” as well as “Stuck inside the World” but since the record doesn’t say I’ll play it safe and leave it without a title. If this record was just a one-sided 7inch with “In a Web” on it, the record would still be worth your money. With a wobbly, ramshackle and catchy as hell guitar riff and a synth beamed lo-fi radio wave-style straight from the cosmos this song just fucking kills it. Sniper’s fuzzed baritone voice is designed perfectly to ride the sonic wave he’s created. This song is like candy, pure pop hooks and all that but done in this brilliant, gloriously wiped out home-recorded way. There’s even something off about the way his guitar sounds. Although it’s probably like picking a favorite child, I’m officially crowning the song my favorite Blank Dogs track. “They Said” finishes the first side. It works like a mini “In a Web” but with a super chilly, walking-home-really-late-at-night vibe. The track’s lifespan barely reaches a full minute, which is tragic, but it’s a fantastic song nonetheless. On the flipside, “Stuck inside the World” takes over. This is Blank Dogs in ballad mode. It’s a mid tempo affair, a trotting chord progression and rhythmic keyboard stabs all building to an anxious chorus. The track sounds as messy as ever but quite melancholic as well.
I don’t know how many hours I’ve spent listening to this and the total run time is like 6 or 7 minutes I think. So in short, if you don’t have it, you need this record. Daggerman sells them for 4 dollars so buy one. Totally. Fucking. Amazing.