Dogleg releases debut album “Melee”

Michigan’s own Dogleg released their debut full length album Melee today through Triple Crown Records.

You can stream the album here.

The band has been sitting on this album for a while now, and had it remixed with the signing to Triple Crown Records for more of a polished sound.

“I would come up with a riff or kind of a rough song idea, and then we’d all play it together and kind of hash out the structure,” says Alex Stoitsiadis (bass/vocals.) “When we started recording, we had about like seven or eight songs done or pretty done. Then we were just trying to work out the kinks for the last, ninth song.”

Although, with nine songs ready to record, it was not quite enough for the band. They preferred the idea of a full ten song album and found just that within the swift writing of “Fox.”

“We were just trying really hard to figure out, like, okay what are we going to do about a tenth song? And then we came up with ‘Fox’ in like 10 minutes just out of nowhere. And we were like, ‘Okay, we did it.” says Stoitsiadis.

“Fox” went on to be the first single released off the album near the end of 2019, shortly followed by “Kawasaki Backflip.”

As a whole, Stoitsiadis has a hard time picking a favorite song, or lyric for that matter. He stressed how proud he is of the whole album.

“Every single word on there, I definitely relate to. There’s not really any that I relate to more than others, just because I feel like they all are kind of a part of me,” Stoitsiadis says. “I do most of the lyric writing for the band, so I feel like they definitely connect to me the most.”

Stoitsiadis says that these are some of the most raw lyrics he has written, and shares the organic approach he takes to his lyricism.

“My lyric writing is basically just like completely adlib, and then after that, listen to the adlib recording, and then write down what I think would make sense from those lyrics,” Stoitsiadis says.

Constrasting previous writing processes to how the full length came about, Melee was developed with a more mindful and thought out approach.

“Compared to the first EPs, which were just kind of like, ‘Oh, we’re just kind of writing stuff in a basement and just kind of doing the things that come to mind first,’ and not really putting too much thought into the structures or anything like that,” Stoitsiadis says. ‘Then this one was more like, ‘Okay, let’s be meticulous about it, let’s be smart about it. Let’s try and really put our all into making these songs as good as possible.'”

As for the album artwork, it was created by Stoitsiadis’ aunt, Chris Lujan. When he saw the pre-made design on her Instagram he knew it had to be the album artwork. Lujan has done all the artwork and merchandise designs for the band thus far.

“It’s beautiful and it’s perfect, and it’s minimalist, and it says a lot and it’s great. I love her work and I’ve grown up seeing her do so many different pieces, and it’s just super cool to be able to actually use it for my art now,” Stoitsiadis says.

Following the album release the band has numerous shows and festivals lined up including  Pitchfork in July, and a tour with Microwave in March and another with Joyce Manor on the west coast in April.

The band will also be performing at Mo Pop this summer. Tickets are available to the public Monday.

“I love playing and then seeing new people get interested in us from us playing. I think that’s the best,” Stoitsiadis says.

Dogleg’s new album Melee is out now available on streaming platforms and purchase. Make sure to follow them on their socials to stay up to date with show announcements.

Photo by Kris Hermann