Fat Dog - WOOF
You better buckle up, this week South London's resident chaos machine, Fat Dog, finally unleash their hotly anticipated debut album WOOF and it's every bit as bonkers as you’d expect. Packed with a maddening energy and a range of unpredictable twists and turns, this record is more than just an introduction, it's a bold, head-turning statement. Before the big drop, we caught up with Joe Love, Chris Hughes, and Morgan Wallace on a rare off day, to talk about their journey to date and how they're adjusting to their new-found fame. “It’s fucking Fat Dog, baby!”
When they first burst onto the scene with “King Of The Slugs” late last year, their arrival felt like a breath of fresh air against the backdrop of stagnating post-punk revivalists and a scene that was quickly losing its potency. Their full-fat party piece, with its thumping percussion and tongue-in-cheek lyricism, chronicling slimy ascension to the apex of the invertebrate monarchy immediately set them aside from the crowd. “As a person, if I was that serious I would cringe a little bit, it’s nice to have something that’s a bit more fun” Joe Love, the lead singer and primary architect of this madcap venture reflects as we discuss the scene they were born into and the band’s role in reintroducing a modicum of fun back into British music. He is quick to clarify however, that they are more than just a vessel for the surreal, “you get bands where it’s just fun and it feels like someone’s going to start giving you poppers at any minute” he ponders before concluding, “we’re not the Vengaboys”.
Little more than a year on from the release of their first single, they are set to release their debut album WOOF via Domino records. Such a rapid rise to prominence is often accompanied by “Industry Plant” accusations; however, in the case of Fat Dog, the foundations of their folklore were laid long before they released any music. Gaining notoriety for their spirited live performances, the band display an uncanny ability to tap into the primal instincts of their audience, dragging even the most inhibited observer from their cerebral stupor back into their latent bodies, back to feeling.
Fat Dog. Credit: Frank Fieber
Joe initially formed the band in the shadow of lockdown, utilising the demos he had made at home during the pandemic in order to keep himself sane as the basis of the project. In Chris Hughes (keyboards/synths), Johnny Hutchinson (drums) and Morgan Wallace (keyboards and saxophone), Love found a group of like-minded mavericks to help bring the dream to life. What was the dream? “I just wanted to look like The Intergalactic Republic Of Congo, I thought we were going to wear white clothes and look like we were walking down to get baptised” he muses with a wry smile etched across his face.
It was early in their genesis that a community formed around the band. Fans quickly followed, ingesting lyrics through snippets of sets uploaded online, in lieu of any available studio material. In typical self-deprecating style, Joe explains,“I think people just like being the first person to like something”, rubbishing their initial impact, however, their trajectory shouldn’t be understated.
With every Fat Dog show seemingly larger than the last, the band sold out Scala back in October 2023 and followed that up with a triumphant set at a sold-out Electric Brixton. Chris Hughes the band’s Swiss Army Knife and resident crab man (think Bez enacting crustacean rituals in the midst of a maddening mosh-pit) was part of the early cohort who found community around Fat Dog but, he soon found himself on the other side of the barrier, “When I joined the band it wasn’t because I wanted to make it huge, I just really liked the music…it feels like things are moving quite quickly now though” he considers, reflecting on his journey.
The band have come a long way since those early shows on the London circuit, signing with Domino Records and hitting a number of major milestones this year including a performance on Jools Holland, a calendar full of summer festivals and an extensive tour around Europe, the US and the UK on the horizon. So, how are they adjusting? “You just fall into the rhythm of it” Morgan explains, discussing the transition from playing sporadic dates to dealing with a full schedule, “it’s better because you have more of a routine, it has become normal in a weird way” or as Chris summarises, “It’s definitely better than still being a kitchen porter, you can’t really complain about this job at all”.
Fat Dog. Credit: Frank Fieber
As they move further into the spotlight, an increasingly devoted fan-base inevitably demands more insight into the band, desperate to know who Fat Dog really are. As media coverage grows and continues to shape their image and alter perception, a gulf slowly emerges between fiction and reality. As Chris explains, “there seems to be this notion that because of the music we are these wild and crazy guys when we’re really fucking not, we’re utter bean and cheese human beings”.
During our conversation, Joe in particular presents a character at odds with his on-stage persona, where he stands like a conductor on the barrier or in the crowd, orchestrating the symphony of frenzied motion that unfolds before him. In this, Love joins a rich lineage of introverts on the well-trodden path to the stage. A trope that can appear paradoxical at first glance however, as he explains, it is a fairly logical rite of passage, “I think the main thing is people who like making music lock themselves in a room for months on end and that’s a thing you can only do if you’re extremely introverted”.
Taking this philosophy into the studio, Joe and co hid themselves away as they crafted their debut. The result is WOOF, a frenetic cocktail of electro-punk chaos, rock ’n’ roll attitude, techno textures, and rave-fueled euphoria, crafted for those who just want to cut loose. Produced by Love alongside James Ford and Jimmy Robertson, the album races by in a blur of sonic mayhem. Drawing inspiration from artists as diverse as Bicep, I.R.O.K., Kamasi Washington, and Russian experimental EDM group Little Big, Fat Dog’s sound is as unpredictable as it is exhilarating.
“I wanted the first one to sound like Vincent Price in Thriller” Joe reflects, as he describes the grandiose monologue that opens up the record and sets the scene for the epic world building that lay ahead. As fans will be aware, the band shared five of WOOF’s nine tracks ahead of its release; however, there is still plenty of new material to get stuck into as the album arrives.
The singles, in the most part, displayed the band’s penchant for hard, grungey bangers or as Chris describes it, “the polar opposite of thinking music”, despite this, some of the project’s best moments come during its quieter intervals such as “I Am The King” where they display an affinity for beautiful soundscapes, a perfect juxtaposition alongside the abundant chaos.
“Clowns” is also welcome breather after the opening madness of “Vigilante”, “Closer To God” and “Wither”, eliciting feelings akin to leaving a club in a heady daze at daybreak, greeted by a hallucinatory grassy meadow as opposed to the litany of chicken shops and rabble of drunken degenerates. The track brings to mind 808s era Kanye with its reverberating, auto-tuned vocal but leaves a lasting impression, showing the versatility that exists in the band's songwriting arsenal.
With WOOF, Fat Dog deliver an exhilarating, genre-defying debut that perfectly captures the duality that exists within us all. A record that expresses the wild, chaotic veneer of the performer while simultaneously giving us a glimpse behind the curtain with its moments of introspection that expose the band's complex personal identities. With its pulsating beats, unpredictable shifts, and playful yet sharp lyricism, the album positions them as a revitalising force within the British music scene. As they continue their meteoric rise, Fat Dog remain refreshingly grounded, proving that behind their anarchic sound lies a group of passionate, thoughtful musicians with boundless potential. With this bold introduction, they've set the stage for an exciting future, leaving fans eager to see what comes next.
WOOF by Fat Dog is out now via Domino Records.
