Singled Out: Lips Speak Louder's Dog Days Of Summer

11-26-2024

Nashville alt-rock duo Lips Speak Louder recently released "Dog Days Of Summer", the third single from their forthcoming debut album, and to celebrate we asked Rachel and Angie to tell us about the track. Here is the story:

Rachel: I think Dog Days of Summer is one of the more personal and vulnerable songs that I've written in a long while. It's about that feeling of realizing you've spent your whole life trying not to rock the boat, trying to be what everyone else expected of you, and making yourself small to not upset the status quo or "be the problem." I think it's a feeling that so many of us quietly deal with in solitude, especially women, who are so often taught to not make waves or take up too much space, which feels especially relevant now, in the current social/political climate we find ourselves in today. The song walks through processing this feeling from quietly acknowledging it, to the realization that it is not only unsustainable, but not the way I want to live. The build of the song goes through the emotions of reckoning with shattering those old ways of existing and finally, at the climax, the gloves are ripped off and emotions laid bare as the lyrics demand "Can you hear me now?" from the place of someone no longer willing to stay small or quiet.

Musically we really wanted the arrangement of the song to follow the emotional build set up by the lyrics. The song starts quietly and stripped down to help set the intimate tone and feeling of solitude and as the emotions build and the burden of staying small breaks apart, the music builds and becomes more and more unrestrained until it is crashing wide open full of feeling and even anger. I tried to capture this especially in the guitar solo, whose last note doesn't resolve right with the final chord change of the progression, but bends towards it over several counts to create a sonic tension that feels like it is tearing apart in an almost splintering fashion. I think Angie really nailed the transitions and communication of emotion with the drums on this song as well. he pointed but restrained punctuation of the toms in the beginning giving way to the continuous crashing of the cymbals and stomping of the kick at the end really bring out the full cathartic effect of what I was hoping to communicate to the listener.

Angie: I really wanted the drums to evoke the raw feeling of Rach's lyrics with Dog Days of Summer. There's a sadness in the lyrics but also a frustration, even anger, and a demand to be heard at the end; I wanted the drums to build up that tension throughout the song until the floodgates burst open at the end.

I started with the toms under the second verse because I felt that would match the feeling of the sadness. A fun tidbit is that I actually played flute under that second verse as well to help solidify those emotions. The toms build and break into a very simple yet heavy beat right before the solo, helping invoke that transition from sadness to the frustration finally reaching the brim, so to speak. From there on out, I kept the drums simple, with full intention to support and accent Rach's explosive vocals. In the end, I think we were able to marry the build and tension with the guitar and drums in a way that really makes a visceral impact on the listener and brings both the intimate and unapologetic nature of the song to life.

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen and watch for yourself below and learn more here