Are We Having a Good Time?

DAWGS is the moniker of Jamie Hammill, an award-winning art student and DIY musician who has just released his second EP, Are We Having a Good Time?

‘Nobody Cares’ opens proceedings with a few seconds of programmed drums, before dropping the type of anthemic chorus that galvanised a generation to keep dancing after their nose piercings were ripped out in the mosh pit. ‘Pockets Full of Stones’ keeps the adrenalin pumping for another minute and a half, recalling Guided By Voices at the height of their four-track fame.

For the title track and closing statement, ‘So I Went Home…’, Hammill makes better use of the production software at his disposal, with synths and samples giving another dimension to his modern madcap pop. ‘Black Coat, Black Hat’ was inspired by William Faulkner’s novel Sanctuary and sees Hammill re-imagine the fallout of a hellish moonshine hangover before the catchy refrain of “Popeye’s going into the temple” batters your eardrums.

What makes Hammill stand out amongst the current crop of lo-fi revivalists is his mastery of writing eccentrically unique songs and self-produce them above demo standard. That isn’t to say the music loses any youthful vigour – far from it. Punching in at less than 15 minutes, these five tracks are as varied as they are direct and the absence of any filler warrants repeated listens, promising a better time than a bloated LP.