Listen to the Debut Album from Dogs on Acid (Featuring Members of Hop Along, Glocca Morra, Algernon Cadwallader)

Dogs On Acid’s beginning was pretty simple, one they could have summed up in a matter of seconds. “How did we start this thing?” Nick Tazza starts, before Joe Reinhart interjects, “We’ve always been doing a thing!”

Considering the large part the four members—guitarists Peter Helmis and Reinhart, bassist Nate Dionne, and drummer Tazza—have played in the reemergence of both emo and the Philadelphia music scene as a whole, coupled with the long musical relationship between all of the members—Helmis and Reinhart have been in bands together for nearly 15 years—it’d be easy to write this off as a continuation of their past bands. Another thing.

That would be a mistake. With their debut for Jade Tree Records dropping on August 28, Dogs On Acid have created something distinct from the sound that they helped craft in previous projects such as Algernon Cadwallader, Snowing, and Glocca Morra, and the end product is one of the most memorable rock records of 2015.

The band’s self-titled full-length is heavily reminiscent of early 90s college rock like Archers of Loaf, Built to Spill, and Superchunk, but Dogs on Acid are uniquely Philadelphian in the way they channel those influences, with a DIY, less-is-more approach to songwriting and production—Reinhart recorded the whole thing himself. Vocalist Peter Helmis (formerly of Algernon Cadwallader and the unknown gem Business Models) continues to write some of the most anthemic songs in punk, but his lyrics on Dogs on Acid are much more personal than his earlier work.

“In the past I've used vague lyrics to be more inclusive and interpretive,” Helmis explained later via email. “I've always saved the more personal lyrics for solo projects… but the solo stuff was always rewarding and welcomed positive response, so with Dogs I decided to see if they'd fit.”

It did, in a big way. Dogs On Acid’s biggest contrast is its surface-level sunniness with the thread of bitter loneliness that permeates through Helmis’s lyrics. Standout track “Sun-Bleached” is one such example; the surfy effects on the vocals give way to a desperate chorus of, “Understand what it means / to be a shell with no body / Want so badly to / help yourself” with repeated emphasis on the last line.

“The record is mostly aimed at focusing on pain to get above it,” Helmis said. “It's not a sunny record by any means, but we're rocking through it like we've got nothing to lose.”

That’s not to say that Dogs On Acid has nothing in common with the bouncy emotional punk of Algernon (Tazza was the original drummer; Reinhart played guitar during the band’s whole run) or Glocca Morra, where Dionne played guitar. “Flushed,” a song previously released on a seven-inch through Asian Man Records, has that instinctual catchiness that made both bands so popular within the Philadelphia punk scene, and middle-of-the-record highlight “No Trigger” recalls some of the moodiness of the members’ past projects.

The album never lets up, but its best track might be “The Prick,” a heavy song where the Archers of Loaf comparison might be most prominent. “You hit me so damn hard, and I really want to show you the mark,” Helmis pleads with the antagonist, with Reinhart’s trademark melodic guitar-work (that has only gotten weirder and better since he started playing with Hop Along) setting the mood.

When asked if he had any expectations for Dogs On Acid after the explosion of the Philly punk scene, though, Helmis argued that those expectations could be a hindrance. “That tends to be more of a prison than a pedestal,” he countered. “We were excited to have a new project to offer to anyone who wanted to listen. As before, we didn't want to be grouped into any category.”

As with bands previous, the band is taking whatever reception comes to the record in stride, but Tazza says they’ve learned from past experiences. “We talked early on about touring and doing it ‘right’,” he said. “We always scraped by when we would tour.” Helmis agrees: “As many bands as we’re still in, we’re kind of prioritizing more than we have [before],” he offered. “When opportunities present themselves, we’re going to take them,” Reinhart said.

And when asked if the band has taken any inspiration from contemporary acts that blend indie rock with a punk and DIY background, “There are some, but I think what you're hearing in similarity to the bands you mentioned is deeply seasoned in our bones,” he asserted. “I am more inspired today by how a band performs and presents themselves then what kind of music they're playing. Most of the musical influence coming from contemporary bands are from the ones doing something completely different.”

With their eponymous first record, Dogs on Acid has staked their claim as “something completely different,” and in doing so has destroyed any expectations fans of their previous work could have. The result is one of the strongest records in recent memory to come out of the country’s most thriving scene, and an exceptionally strong foundation for a band with a ton of potential. That’s a “thing” that everyone gets behind.

Dogs on Acid's self-titled album is out on August 28 from Jade Tree. Pre-order it here.