Dr. Dog Be The Void LP (Opaque Red & Clear Galaxy Vinyl)

Recorded in the summer of 2011, Be The Void seizes that vibrant spirit and transforms it into a 12-track song selection that's at turns deadly catchy and dance-worthy (the shuffling swagger of "Big Girl"), wistful and bittersweet (the lovely, languid sigh of "Get Away"), and earthy-earnest (the twangy troubadour folk of "Turning the Century").

Though each track feels richly textured and intricately layered, the band made a conscious effort to keep the recording process fast and loose. "We worked quicker and trusted our gut more than ever before, and at times it was scary and almost panic-inducing," says guitarist-vocalist Scott McMicken. "All of a sudden you'd be aware of a feeling like, 'This is really working, so don't mess it up.' And then the song ends and your heart's pounding and you realize you haven't taken a breath in three minutes. It was like riding a rollercoaster and wishing you could get right back on again."

As a result of that newfound abandon and surrender to intuition, "there's so much on the record that I could never have imagined us being able to come up with," McMicken adds. All throughout Be The Void, Dr. Dog delights in a playfulness that lends a refreshingly oddball feel even to the record's more true-to-form tracks. "These Days," for instance, backs its bouncy bassline with a dizzying swirl of sunny guitars, while the handclapping and hollering on the album opening "Lonesome" help twist a downer of a refrain ("What does it take to be lonesome? Nothing at all.") into a sweetly anthemic stomper of a song.