Dog Eared

Last updated

Dog Eared
Dog Eared.jpg
Studio album by
Released18 July 2025 (2025-07-18)
StudioSugar Mountain (Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn) [1]
Genre
Length37:24
Label Fiction
Producer Philip Weinrobe
Billie Marten chronology
Drop Cherries
(2023)
Dog Eared
(2025)
Singles from Dog Eared
  1. "Crown"
    Released: 11 October 2024
  2. "Feeling"
    Released: 19 March 2025
  3. "Leap Year"
    Released: 16 April 2025
  4. "Swing"
    Released: 14 May 2025
  5. "Clover"
    Released: 18 June 2025

Dog Eared is the fifth studio album by British singer-songwriter Billie Marten, released on 18 July 2025 by Fiction Records. Five singles predated its release, starting with "Crown" in October 2024.

Contents

Background and recording

Marten wanted her fifth album to feel more like a collaborative effort with her fellow recording musicians, with producer Philip Weinrobe calling for "live takes, intuition, and no headphones." [1]

The album was inspired by Marten's nostalgia for various childhood memories. The song "Leap Year" was inspired by a fleeting love, while the song "Feeling" touches on memories of Marten falling deep into her father's large hands, hiding at the top of stairs, and driving toy cars in patterns around her grandmother’s rugs." [2] [3] For the album's fifth single "Swing", Marten aimed to create a sound where Meat Puppets meets The Breeders. [4]

The album's title was inspired by Marten's love for "underlining, scribbling in the margins, and folding down the corners of pages in her favorite novels." [3]

Packaging

The album's cover was painted by Brazilian-born painter Daniel Borgonovi, who painted the image only after having heard the album. The painting depicts a portrait of Marten without eyes, which reinforces "the idea of her feeling her way, sharpening her ears and relaxing into the sonic cues". [1]

Critical reception

The album was met with positive critical acclaim upon its release. According to the review aggregator Metacritic, the album received "universal acclaim" based on a weighted average score of 88 out of 100 from four critic scores. [5]

The Independent 's Helen Brown gave the album a five-star rating, stating: "Given time and attention, the confident craft of the songwriting and mellow musicianship will sink their grooves into the soul." [1]

Henry Dunn of Indie Is Not a Genre gave the album a 4 out of 5 star rating, saying, "With Dog Eared, Billie Marten folds the corner of a defining chapter in her career. Her voice remains the emotional anchor, but it now moves within a broader, more textured sonic space—one that embraces collaboration, complexity, and risk." [2]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Billie Marten.

Dog Eared track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Feeling"3:20
2."Crown"2:20
3."Clover"3:30
4."No Sudden Changes"3:44
5."The Glass"3:45
6."Leap Year"5:45
7."Goodnight Moon"4:27
8."Planets"3:39
9."You and I Both"4:05
10."Swing"2:45
Total length:37:24

Personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal. [6]

Charts

Chart performance for Dog Eared
Chart (2025)Peak
position
Scottish Albums (OCC) [7] 16
UK Albums (OCC) [8] 46
UK Americana Albums (OCC) [9] 2
UK Folk Albums (OCC) [10] 9
UK Independent Albums (OCC) [11] 4

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Brown, Helen. "Billie Marten's Dog Eared is a brilliant, soothing album with a sense of looming danger". The Independent . Retrieved 19 July 2025.
  2. 1 2 Dunn, Henry. "Billie Marten's Dog Eared: A Broader Canvas for an Enduring Voice". Indie Is Not a Genre. Retrieved 19 July 2025.
  3. 1 2 Lemmon, Kyle. "Billie Marten, Dog Eared". Flood. Retrieved 19 July 2025.
  4. Solomon-Brady, Harvey. "Billie Marten shares new single 'Swing' ahead of fifth album Dog Eared". Why Now. Retrieved 19 July 2025.
  5. "Dog Eared - Billie Marten". Metacritic. Retrieved 19 July 2025.
  6. "Dog Eared / Billie Marten / Credits". Tidal . Retrieved 24 July 2025.
  7. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 July 2025.
  8. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 July 2025.
  9. "Official Americana Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
  10. "Official Folk Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company . Retrieved 16 August 2025.
  11. "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 July 2025.