Photo by Elvira Broman
The pandemic has affected every musical artist in some way. Whether it’s shifted rehearsal schedules, delayed tours or altered sounds/styles, the past year can be felt in a variety of ways. For New York based Bedroom Indie Pop duo Dog Trainer it’s a wonky combination of all of the above as they embarked on finishing their second (and first double album) Scrolling to feel better. We recently interviewed the collaborators about their process around recording the album, part one of which was released this past Friday, the 26th.
Having released their first full length Puppyhood in early 2019, singer Nick Broman and guitarist Lucas del Calvo had initially taken a break from the project to focus on a new sound. Starting off as competing musicians at the New School for Jazz, the pair branched off to explore their growing love of intimate Indie sounds and layered Pop atmospheres. Kicking things off with the release of their debut EP Apartments in 2017, the group found themselves in a more lo-fi territory due to the DIY nature of their current recording process. Following the continuation of this Indie sound with Puppyhood, they decided to try something different.
Photo by Elvira Broman
Taking on a new project 1-800-Superstar which settled in more of a Pop adjacent world, they were able to play around with textures outside of the indie/lo-fi genre. Allowing them to get into beat making and drawing on a wide range of influences from Porches, Charli XCX and LAUV, to more unexpected artists such as Coldplay, Taylor Swift and Illenium, the latter del Calvo regards as “tasteless EDM”. Having grown from this experience in their creativity and production styles, Broman and del Calvo were ready to leash up once again to work on more Dog Trainer music. In March of last year they began work on a new album right as the world presented an unprecedented conflict.
The duo made it work, albeit separately, with Broman and del Calvo exchanging music and lyrics between their respective residences in New York and Vermont. Allowing for more time to be productive, the distance also gave the artists space to experiment. “I feel guilty if I make Nick sit there and listen to me make a beat for four hours,” explained del Calvo. This sudden abundance of free time led to the group having a wide variety of beats which they began to feel attached to. So much so that the idea of releasing a two part album was born. Both a result of struggling to find a cohesive sound between many of the 20+ song structures they had created and a general dislike of really long albums, the idea only made sense.
For the last three months of writing, the pair reconnected in New York so they could finish together. “The highlight of quarantine was making the album… living together, playing video games, getting drunk,” says Del Calvo. Out of this unconventional process came the group’s best release to date. A swirling amalgamation of sounds and styles, part one plays on the feelings of being a young creative trying to make it work in a world that constantly seems like it’s trying to break us down. Providing space to jump around and work through these traumas before giving us time to rest and reflect, Broman and del Calvo have crafted a body of work that feels essential for these wild times we’re living in.
With part one available everywhere, they were able to reflect on their feelings and favorite aspects so far. When asked about their favorite tracks from part one, Broman admits track three “Really Not Close” has an immediate effect on him, “I just like that song and the production. It doesn’t really go much deeper than that [laughs].” For del Calvo it’s album opener and single “Dumb Paranoia” which holds a special place in his mind. “The spirit [of this song] is the spirit of the whole album and how I feel. Neurotic, pessimistic and also heartfelt and romantic,” del Calvo continues, “as an independent artist with each album you feel like it’s “the one” and it can leave you feeling vulnerable. It’s a first world pain, but it’s still a pain of you putting your whole life into this thing you’re so invested in.”
There’s a line in “Dumb Paranoia” which directly deals with the uncertainties of choices we make in our lives and the long lasting effects that can be born out of these tough decisions. “Am I gonna hate this tattoo when I’m 45 applying for a job I never wanted in the suburb where I grew up? All the walls closing in and the room’s spinning round. Will this end, will this stop, am I stuck feeling anxious?” There comes a point in our lives where we begin to find ourselves considering the long term results of seemingly simple ideas and if/when to just give in, “grow up” and act more practical.
However, even steeped in these emotions, the duo denies regretting the lives they have lived up to this point. “I have a crazy amount of anxiety about where I am but it’s hard to really regret things because it’s the only way anything could’ve happened. At the end of the day, all of these risks like choosing to be a musician [rather than a more conventional career path] led to Nick being my best friend, meeting my girlfriend and having all of these connections that I care about now,” admits del Calvo. A sentiment that is directly related to a line in track two “If All The Worst Moments”: “if all the worst moments in my life led to this moment then I’d take every last one of them and I’d do it all over.”
Broman adds, “[going] into music when you’re 18, 19, 20, you sort of know what you’re getting into… something that’s risky, might not all work out, could amount to very little, but the experience of doing that is what makes it meaningful.”
Check out the new album Scrolling to feel better… part one below and find the rest of Dog Trainer’s music on Bandcamp and Spotify now and follow them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter!