Doggie Pizza Crust by Margaret Hooligans

Look, a song can be too much.

It can be too much of an instant guitar and drum ear worm. Latter day self-parody Ramones are a good example. There is a delicate balance between instant love and disposable.

It can be too cute or fun. A band can lurch from knowing and funny to clownish fools. Self parody only works to a point.

It can be too clever. It can conceal some excellent ideas too deeply, so that the listener never appreciates what is there. And if the listener does not get it, then it was never there.

It can be too much of a stream of consciousness. There is a sweet spot between a flow of words and emotion, and a clinically constructed vocal.

Doggie Pizza Crust avoids all of those traps and lands square at the target. It is an ear-worm, deceptively simple on the first listen, a real "turn it up I want to listen" tune. Well produced, sharp without being cold. It is fun and it flows like am overheard conversation but it never stops feeling like a good song rather than an improvisation. It is amusing and kind.

I loved Soulfather which seems like a long time ago, well it is in dog years. I love this even more. It is a gem of a song. Any band, from any country, at any time in the last 50 years would be proud to have released this. Yes, that is high praise. Live with it. Sometimes I just like something and don't feel the need to make my opinion sound clever.

Best song of 2023 so far.