Little Gold – “Public Dog”

Christian "Smokey" DeRoeck, a founding member of Woods and Menaguar and a guitarist for Ryan Davis & The Roadhouse Band, also leads his own band called Little Gold. The Athens, Georgia combo is building up to the release of new album Public Dog, and if you have any affinity for the above associations, you'll want to tap in.

Public Dog is billed as a return to Little Gold's power-pop roots after 2020's more explicitly countrified Wake Up & Die Right. DeRoeck and friends introduced the release with "What You Want," a mildly twangy guitar-pop tune that reminds me of Uncle Tupelo and Dinosaur Jr. It's a gem, as is "Public Dog," the new album's title track and second single. That one reminds me of Davis' old country-punk band State Champion, and it features Athens' own Julia Barfield.

“‘Public dog’ is a term that handicappers use when the general public is betting heavily on the underdog,” DeRoeck explains. "The rub is that the public dog almost never wins." Hear both new tracks below along with "Pissin'," first released as a standalone single in 2024, which will have you joyously flashing back to A.M./Being There-era Wilco.

TRACKLIST:
01 "Cochise"
02 "What You Want"
03 "Public Dog"
04 "The Queen’s Weed"
05 "Philomena (pt. 2)"
06 "Born To Loose (sic)"
07 "Pissin’"
08 "Early Internet"
09 "Bum Equipment"
10 "Mercury"
11 "Twerp"

Public Dog is out 7/24 on Tall Texan. Pre-order it here.