From the opening blast of “Lydia” through the rest of their debut disc, Night Group, Halifax’s Dog Day clear-cut their way through their peers’ cutesy, group-hug indie-rock, pairing the melancholic drones of mid-period Sonic Youth with boy-girl vocals from husband-and-wife singers Seth Smith and Nancy Urich. Their sound caught the ear of European label Tomlab, who helped introduce both that record and the band to an international audience that have kept them in demand, and on the road, for the past few years. Seizing the reins for their follow-up, Concentration finds the band producing the album themselves in order to fully explore their unique blend of prog-pop and hardcore sensibilities. EYE WEEKLY spoke with Smith over Skype as the band prepare for another cross-Canada jaunt.
 
Growing up in Nova Scotia, how much of that mid-’90s east coast scene had an influence on you?
I think it definitely had an effect on us. Most of us were really big Eric’s Trip fans back in the day, and I remember ordering records through Murderrecords in high school. The thing I liked about Eric’s Trip that was so refreshing was that they were kind of lo-fi and sounded real. Before that, with the late ’80s and even a lot of that grunge stuff, it was so produced, with super-tight compression. Eric’s Trip were a bunch of people with a four-track recording in a basement. How much more real can you get?

What was it like touring as two couples in a band?
Well it’s actually just one couple. [Drummer Casey Spidle and keyboardist Crystal Thili] were married but they’re divorced now. Even that has a dynamic when touring. We get asked this a lot, but it really isn’t that much different than just touring with a bunch of good friends. I guess we know each other a lot better than best friends do. And Nancy and I get to share a bed, so that works well when we’re staying at peoples’ houses.

Musically, the two couples were coming from two different backgrounds when you formed — you and Nancy were in pop outfit The Burdocks and Casey and Crystal played hardcore in The Hold — so how did that play out in finding a sound?
The four of us have had a lot of projects, but when we first formed it was really a combination of those two. It definitely came from a punk background. That’s what we were good at. But pop was a good outlet. Towards the end, The Burdocks were doing a lot of math[-rock] progression and proggy elements. And I was really into that scene, but at the same time, I wanted to get back to doing some songs [where] I didn’t really have to care about how I was playing so much and kind of rock out.

Night Group had an uplifting aspect, as well as an understated cynicism. The new record seems a bit more positive, though at times there’s still a double edge to it.
A lot of the happier moments on this record came from when we were touring across Europe, Canada and the States and Casey was going through this Brian Wilson phase — we listened to so much Beach Boys. We also listened to a lot of Christian Death — one of the first goth bands — so in a weird way, I can hear both of those influences on the record. You don’t have to be depressed to make depressing music. Also, you don’t want to destroy your listeners either.