It apparently took Pink Floyd three years to write and complete the recording of the 17-minute-long track, “Dogs” for their 1977 album Animals. It took inspired Chicago psych-sludge outfit Cokegoat twice as long to finish their own rendition. It’s a crazy story that begins with the sextet’s shared admiration for the multi-movement epic and decision to try their hand at it. Drums were tracked in 2015 and forgotten; guitars, bass and keys were added years later; vocals followed eventually and finally the band—Tim Baldwin (bass), Jordan Schultz (drums), Chase Bentley (guitars), Ed Nudd (guitars/vocals), Jeff Wojtysiak (guitars/vocals), Rebekah Brown (keyboards/vocals)—invited Scientist guitarist Patrick Auclair to do his best David Gilmour over the glorious miasma, before it was all mixed, mastered and readied for release.
And that day is nearly here, friends. Cokegoat’s version of the loping, sprawling, emotional track maintains all the hallmarks of the original—the barking dogs, the many moods and movements, the impassioned vocals and the soaring solos—but the band adds its own unkempt, gritty and weird imprint on it. All 17 blessed minutes of it are here for you stream, as well as two videos of “selections” from the song. Grab your headphones and sink in.
The track will be made available on April 8, and can be ordered from the band here.
Cokegoat had this to say about their crowning achievement:
“It was great to have the chance to finish this song over the pandemic. Not being able to be physically together but still complete a project as a group kept the juices flowing. It took six years to figure out that that juice really came from our collective whole. We had to just put a towel down under our process and make a big mess. Pink Floyd impregnated us with ‘Dogs’ and we birthed this mutant.”
