Album Review: Two Dogs, A Television – Fields of Industry

On Fields of Industry’s debut full-length Two Dogs, A Television, the Lansing-based band deliver stripped down ambient rock along the same lines as Duluth, Minnesota’s Low. Utilizing a sound of sparse instrumentation- percussion is no more than some tambourine on some songs, and frontman Joshua Barton’s vocals sound like they are being sung to himself rather than an audience- Two Dogs… is a fragile, but dense record.

On the disk, the band is fairly unrelenting in its pace and tone, with positively churchlike chilled-out tracks like “I’ve Seen A Light” and “No Relief”. The third song in, “I’m Not Afraid Of A Fight”, breaks with more traditional rock n’ roll. But the album manages to maintain an air of meditation or remembrance: “Dreams” has a cinematic quality and sounds suited for the credits reel of a movie.

Track “Point of Contention” is a standout, which the band has also shot a music video for (the track was also featured on NPR). On it, faster strumming and ethereal female backing vocals separate it from the bunch, and Barton’s voice has something more of an emotional inflection to it. Don’t play this at a party or you might lull your guests to sleep. But if you’re on your own, Two Dogs… is some fine background noise.