First Dog to Visit the Center of the Earth - Landing

(Self Released, 2011)

Don't know why, exactly, I fell asleep this year on First Dog to Visit the Center of the Earth, aka First Dog, aka FDVCE, aka Murrieta, California's Jack Rodriguez.  However, consider me wide awake now.  Wide awake.  All I have been listening to for the past week is 2011 FDVCE releases (two full lengths and an EP).  The most recent of which, Landing, is still super fresh, considering it was just released last month.  I first fell for FDVCE last year when I heard Colossus Archosaur.  On Landing, the Black Dice oddness has sobered slightly, though not completely, and the result is bubbly, tinkering, bright and colorful work reminiscent of Yesterday Was Dramatic-era Múm.  And, as you might imagine, the ground connecting those two FG-favorites is rich with possibilities.  Thankfully, Rodriguez cultivates the space with expert skill, creating work that nods knowingly at its predecessors while at the same time carving out a unique space for himself.  Really, a really good record--more than just solid: great.