Critical Equation

Critical Equation
Studio album by Dr. Dog
Released	April 27, 2018 (2018-04-27)
Recorded	Fillipinotown, CA
Studio	Sargent Recorders
Genre	Indie rock, blues rock
Length	40:27
Label	Thirty Tigers
Producer	Gus Seyffert
Dr. Dog chronology
Abandoned Mansion (2016) Critical Equation (2018) Live 2 (2019)

Critical Equation is the tenth album by American psychedelic rock band Dr. Dog. It was released on April 27, 2018 on the Thirty Tigers label. ^[1] The album was met with generally favorable reviews, reaching 68 on Metacritic. ^[2]

Production

After band member Dimitry Manos left the band for other projects and frustrations about how their previous label had handled the release of their previous two albums The Psychedelic Swamp and Abandoned Mansion, ^[3] the band decided to change their recording process, ^[4] recording exclusively on 16-track analog tape and worked with a new producer, Gus Seyffert, in a new studio, Sargent Recorders, in California in late 2017. ^[4]

On NPR's Live from Here percussionist Eric Slick stated “We were either going to break up or make our best record" given the stress of the production process. ^{[5] [6]}

Release

The album was made available for streaming on OPB's website on April 23, 2018, 4 days before it was released. ^[7] Four tracks were also made available prior to the album's release: "Listening In" was released on January 15, "Go Out Fighting" on February 15, "Buzzing in the Light", on March 15, and "Heart Killer" on April 6. ^[1]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Dr. Dog.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Listening In"	4:53
2.	"Go Out Fighting"	3:24
3.	"Buzzing in the Light"	4:02
4.	"Virginia Please"	4:02
5.	"Critical Equation"	3:59
6.	"True Love"	2:51
7.	"Heart Killer"	3:33
8.	"Night"	6:01
9.	"Under the Wheels"	3:50
10.	"Coming Out of the Darkness"	3:41
Total length:		40:27

Personnel

Dr. Dog

• Toby Leaman – vocals, bass
• Scott McMicken – vocals, guitar
• Zach Miller – keys
• Frank McElroy – guitar, vocals
• Eric Slick – drums

Production

• Sean Cook – engineering
• Dave Cooley – mastering
• Leann Cornelius – artwork, design
• Dr. Dog – artwork, design
• Gus Seyffert – engineering, mixing, production

References

1. "A Revitalized Dr. Dog Is 'Listening In,' Desperately". NPR.org. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
2. Critical Equation by Dr. Dog , retrieved June 22, 2020
3. "Dr. Dog Shares New Album 'Abandoned Mansion'". JamBase. November 29, 2016. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
4. "Dr. Dog give a Track By Track breakdown of their new album, Critical Equation: Stream". Consequence of Sound. April 27, 2018. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
5. "Dr. Dog: Go Out Fighting". Relix Media. April 24, 2018. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
6. "Dr. Dog, Ibeyi, and Dan Naturman | Live from Here with Chris Thile". www.livefromhere.org. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
7. Walker, Jerad. "Listen To Dr. Dog's New Album 'Critical Equation'". www.opb.org. Retrieved June 22, 2020.