Following a number of EPs and standalone singles, Chicago four-piece The Roof Dogs are gearing up to release their debut full-length album, Here You Are, via Earth Libraries. The record might not be out until November, but the band have unveiled lead single ‘Weather’ by way of an introduction. A track which suggests the album will be well worth the wait.
With its building, carefree rhythm and slacker cool, ‘Weather’ possesses all the hallmarks of a late summer hit, though dig a little deeper and something more interesting emerges. “I’ve become subservient to the weather,” goes the soon to be repeated refrain, before the song pitches the listener into a specific moment. A vignette brought to life with careful detail. Legs sticking to leather sofa cushions. Oil pastels. Yesterday’s Globe and Mail. “I’ve become subservient to the weather.”
Each time the chorus circles around, the scene deepens, slowly turning the crank of the moment to twist its edge. Grandpa reading aloud from the newspaper. A printed letter addressed to a killer, a mother writing to a strangler of teenage girls. “She says I got no doubts about your good intentions,” goes the missive, as read by Grandpa. “In fact, I think you’re teaching them a real good lesson / You can’t expect your next breath to happen at all.”
Then the refrain again. “I’ve become subservient to the weather,” cycling over and over. Each repetition growing in conviction as though the statement is reinforcing itself, or else the narrator is working harder to believe what they are saying. “I’ve become subservient to the weather.” Agency evaporating into something more ominous. People governed by powers beyond their control. “I’ve become subservient to the weather.”
Here You Are will be released on the 23rd November via Earth Libraries and you can pre-order it now.
