Fat Dog has never been a band interested in making music that sits quietly in the background.
Their latest album, Cancel Me (I’m Tired), arrives like a sonic car crash between a nightclub, a punk show and some sort of bizarre late-night fever dream. The South London seven-piece have built their reputation on unpredictable live performances and an equally unpredictable sound, and their second album continues to embrace that chaos while showing a band willing to stretch beyond the formula of their debut.
The album wastes little time establishing its intentions. “Smile and Wave” opens the record before launching into “Go Fuck Urself,” one of the album’s most aggressive and immediately memorable moments. The title alone gives you a pretty good idea of Fat Dog’s approach, but the track is more than just an exercise in shock value. Built around pounding electronic production, abrasive vocals and an almost confrontational energy, “Go Fuck Urself” feels like the kind of song designed to be screamed back at the band from a packed crowd. It is messy, obnoxious and ridiculously fun, capturing the live-wire quality that has made Fat Dog such an intriguing presence within London’s alternative scene.
That manic energy begins to take on a darker edge with “Call It What You Want.” Rather than relying solely on the band’s usual absurdity, the track taps into a more recognizable feeling of exhaustion and dissatisfaction backed with a lush synth-pop production. Its grinding instrumentation and glittery electronic textures create an atmosphere that feels claustrophobic, while Joe Love’s delivery sounds increasingly worn down by the world around him. There is still plenty of Fat Dog’s eccentric personality here, but the track reveals a more vulnerable side of the band. The record’s title begins to make more sense through songs like this, where the humor and chaos are accompanied by a sense of burnout lurking underneath.
The album’s ability to move between ridiculous and surprisingly sincere moments is one of its biggest strengths. “The Devil” continues this unpredictability, bringing a darker and more theatrical presence to the record. The track feels almost like a twisted piece of performance art, with Fat Dog building tension through its electronic textures and increasingly dramatic instrumentation. Instead of simply trying to make the listener dance, the band creates a sense of uneasiness that keeps the song from becoming predictable. It is another example of how the group can take familiar elements of punk and electronic music and distort them into something that feels distinctly their own.
And strange is ultimately the best word to describe Cancel Me (I’m Tired). Fat Dog’s music has always existed somewhere between dance music and punk, but this album makes that collision feel even larger. The electronic rhythms provide the foundation, while distorted guitars, percussion, strings, horns and Love’s unpredictable vocals constantly disrupt it. The songs rarely stay in one place for long, which can make the album feel chaotic by design. At its best, that unpredictability is exactly what makes Fat Dog so entertaining. There is always another bizarre sound, unexpected transition, or ridiculous lyrical moment waiting around the corner.
For all its absurdity, though, there is a genuine sense of progression here. Cancel Me (I’m Tired) doesn’t abandon the manic personality that made WOOF., their previous release, stand out, but it gives that personality more room to evolve. The album can be abrasive one moment and surprisingly emotional the next, moving from rave-ready chaos to darker reflections on exhaustion, relationships and modern life. Some of the humor can feel deliberately juvenile, and the band’s tendency toward excess will undoubtedly be an acquired taste. Even so, Fat Dog understands that their greatest strength is their ability to make music that refuses to behave normally.
Cancel Me (I’m Tired) ultimately feels like Fat Dog embracing the ridiculousness of their own existence while simultaneously trying to figure out what comes next. It is loud, unpredictable, occasionally absurd and almost impossible to categorize, but that is precisely the point. Fat Dog aren’t interested in choosing between the club and the mosh pit, electronic music and rock, humor and sincerity. They want all of it at once. And while Cancel Me (I’m Tired) may leave you wondering exactly what you just listened to, it will probably have you moving before you have time to figure it out.
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