Interview with Track Dogs: ‘There’s always hope in our songs, there might be a lyric that’s dark but we’ll dress it up in a sunnier rhythm’

Madrid-based acoustic band Track Dogs have released ‘Cover Your Tracks’, their sunny first single from their eighth album Blind Summits & Hidden Dips, which is due out on 6 October.

Track Dogs comprises two Irishmen, an Englishman and an American, whose artistic name derives from the dark subterranean world of New York’s subway system. They are: Garrett Wall (vocals/guitar/ukelele/piano), Dave Mooney (bass/ukelele/vocals), Howard Brown (trumpet/vocals/percussion) and Robbie K. Jones (cajón/banjo/vocals). ‘We all did meet in Madrid,’ Wall said. ‘I was teaching in an English school, as you do there. There was a guy working there, Howard, but we hadn’t really connected for music at all. Dave, the bass player, was working at an Irish bar near the academy and we got talking. When we were both living in Dublin, we’d both entered the same band competition: my band won and his came second and, many years later, we crossed paths! He knew Robbie, the American, who did sessions playing the cajón in the bar.’

Formed in 2006 in Madrid around the eclectic line-up of acoustic guitar, bass, trumpet and cajón, over the following 17 years they have added banjo, ukulele and mandolin into the mix, as well as honing their four part vocal harmonies, which are now very much an integral part of their sound. ‘Bit by bit, the opportunity to play together increased,’ Wall said. ‘It’s funny, I was fed up with the typical lead guitar set up in a band, then we added Howard, he does the harmonies and the trumpet adds layers, we’ve managed to create a huge sound. We’ve all picked up other instruments along the way, it’s great to be able to swap them round.’

They’re incredibly hard to pigeonhole, such is the range of genres that they encompass. There’s a bit of everything, resulting in a seamless blend of folk, Latin, Americana, bluegrass and Dixieland jazz – with sprinklings of calypso and Southern soul scattered on top.

‘It’s quite bombastic, the trumpet has a lot to do in this one, there’s a lot going on vocally’

‘Cover Your Tracks’ encompasses that diversity because there’s so much going on in it but they’re also reminiscent of Crowded House with their harmonies, with Brown’s trumpet line adding a slight Spanish vibe: ‘We probably chose to release it first ‘cos it’s quite a mainstream song in a lot of ways,’ Wall said. ‘We’re going to follow it up quickly with the lead track in a month. We have the album pretty much recorded, we didn’t expect to do another album so quickly! We’ll release three more singles before the album comes out in October. The next one will be ‘The Way of Things’, it’s very representative of our mixture of latino rhythms and English lyrics. It’s more or less a rumba (an Afro-Cuban dance). I’m really excited about it. It’s quite bombastic, the trumpet has a lot to do in this one, there’s a lot going on vocally. It’s the way it should be. Songs that are less typical like this one can spark the imagination more. It’s basically a message like you’re mentoring somebody and trying to teach them life lessons. You’re saying “You ain’t seen nothing yet” (laughs), it’s very cinematic. This song’s about people getting away from it all and running for the hills, it’s saying “Protect yourself and don’t get lost in the rat race”. There’s another track on the album called ‘Peace Inside’, we’ve got friends in the UK playing the violin and cello on it.’

As ‘The Way of Things’ kicks off: “There are worse things in this world. You just ain’t seen nothing yet. There’s no shame in love and loss. There’s no heart without regret. There’s a longing in your soul. It’s the most you’ve ever felt. You can hide it all you want. But you can’t run from yourself.”

The album title Blind Summits & Hidden Dips comes from their recent tour around the UK with English roots/folk duo Show of Hands, when Jones made light of these particular northern road signs at a gig in Whitby. Although the title was intended to be tongue-in-cheek, it later came to reference the ups and downs of the music industry and touring itself. In addition to their own songs, the album will include a cover of ‘Rhiannon’ by Fleetwood Mac as well as a bluegrass cover, ‘Sleep With One Eye Open’: ”Rhiannon’ has got Robbie on the vibraphone and myself on the uke, it’s a bit different to the original (laughs),’ Wall said. The album will consist of 10 tracks, including ‘The Way of Things’, ‘Cover Your Tracks’, ‘Be Your Silver Bullet’, ‘Water the Lawn’, ‘Play Nice’ and ‘Sleep With One Eye Open’.  

Last year’s album Where to Now? shows just how gloriously they mash up different styles. ‘Meet Me in the Middle’ starts off as a piano ballad, morphing into something grander and richer as strings come in. ‘River of Gold’ has a mariachi flavour, amplified by some lyrics in Spanish, with the strings, trumpet and mandolin giving it a summery vibe. ‘Empty Tracks’, which features The Potato Monsters – Jones’s side project – is a lively jig that is a nod to the band’s Irish connections. One of my favourite tracks of theirs, ‘Dance ‘Til You Miss Your Train’, on their Uke Songs by Track Dogs album (2019) is sunniness personified, with the uke and salsa-like rhythm – punctuated with some wonderful trumpet fills by Brown – extolling you to jump up and, indeed, dance until you miss your train.

‘It’s like they’re in the ether, you pluck the songs out of it, it’s almost like you’re in a fugue state’

Well-established in Spain where they are based, they describe their sound as ‘sun-shiny songs thriving on dark themes behind irresistible rhythms’: ‘There’s always hope in our songs,’ Wall said. ‘There might be a lyric that’s dark but we’ll dress it up in a sunnier rhythm. At the end of ‘The Way of Things’, it says “La vida espera”, it’s a play on words as ‘esperar’ can meet both to hope and to wait.’

Interestingly, Wall’s approach to songwriting has changed as he’s got older: ‘The music side of things was always brighter and palatable, songs that you can dance to, but as I’ve grown older, my lyrics have become more honest and reflective,’ he said. ‘We’ve embraced the fact that we’re not indie (laughs), this is what we do. I start on the ukelele or the guitar and stream of consciousness. It very rarely starts as the lyric on its own, but usually with a piece of music and then it gravitates to the lyrics. I can almost see where it’s going. It’s like they’re in the ether, you pluck the songs out of it, it’s almost like you’re in a fugue state (laughs). One of the new songs, ‘Peace Inside’, I thought maybe it was too simple or repetitive but I kept going back to it because of the melody. The lyrics have perspective. My wife does a lot of meditation and this song is like that, it’s a circle, it has the same mantra musically, it just flows. I’m very happy with how it turned out.’

After a fortuitous invitation to the Costa del Folkfestival in Ibiza they have teamed up with Firebrand Music in the UK who also represent Show of Hands, with whom they released a 23-track live album, Dog Show Sessions, earlier this year. Earlier this month, (10 April) and a few days after we chatted, they played the Royal Albert Hall in London, a career-defining gig: ‘We’ve never had the opportunity to play there before, it’s very exciting!,’ Wall said. 

‘I don’t know if I’ve eaten all of the things she talks about, I need to go to Mexico!’

I came across Track Dogs when they were recommended by Middlesbrough folk singer Amelia Coburn, who I interviewed last year. It turns out that they played on her ‘Cheese’ song about food and life in Mexico, where she lived for a year and with whom they performed this month in Sunderland: ‘We’ve crossed paths with Amelia a couple of times,’ Wall said. ‘I have a song I’m writing with her, I sent her the bare bones. I started writing it in the hospital two years ago when my son was born. Her ‘Cheese’ song is great, I don’t know if I’ve eaten all of the things she talks about, I need to go to Mexico!’ I say that I actually lived in the same small town in Mexico where her boyfriend lived, albeit it several years apart, and he laughs. ‘Wow, really? El mundo es un pañuelo!’ (It’s a small world.)

Wall, who has lived in Spain for 23 years, working as a voice over actor and singer, has seen his own influences seep in: ‘When I started listening to music, I was listening to Bread (a soft rock band from LA in the 70’s). I was a bit of a rocker drawn to the music (laughs). I’m a huge Queen fan. My older brother listened to Boston and Queen. I’m always attracted to a good melody. I was a big fan of Peter Gabriel. I’ve always been into a lot of different things, I used to go and see gypsy jazz. Stanley Jordan is a great jazz guitarist. If I hear a good song on the radio, I’ll stop the car (laughs). Like Judee Sill (an American folk singer). ‘Jesus Was a Cross Maker’ blew me away when I heard it. I’ve always been drawn to good music in any form if it’s a good song. I love ‘Wake Me Up’ by Aviici.’

With seven albums under their belts (nine if you count the two they recorded as the Garrett Wall Band from 2006-2010), their versatile and accessible style enables them to be at home at festivals as diverse as Americana Music Madrid, Electric Picnic (Ireland’s mega-festival), Grand Northern Ukulele Festival, Shrewsbury Folk Festival and Trafalgar Square’s Saint Patrick’s Day super stage.

Wall’s dream line up would be glorious: ‘I guess it would have to be bands and artists that we have been influenced by as we were discovering music or admire, such as Queen with Freddie Mercury – me! – Jimi Hendrix (Dave), Bill Monroe (Robbie) and Stevie Wonder (Howard),’ he said. ‘Thankfully, Stevie is still around. I saw Jeff Buckley play in Dublin in the 90’s so that would be a must. It was actually Glen Hansard who recommended I go see him, as he knew him from New York. Glad I took his advice, amazing concert!’

They’ve had a lot of funny moments on the road over the years: ‘I guess one might be when the most famous radio and TV presenter in Ireland – Ryan Tubridy – saw us play on a train during a radio promo week, Wall recounted. ‘He played a track on his radio show the following day and announced to the world what a great band were… Dog Tracks! Haha, we cried, then we laughed. We have a lot of fun touring, we mainly travel in a motor home in the UK thanks to a dear friend Ann Pywell who lends us hers, she’s a saint! The craic is mighty, as they say, and probably why we’re still together 17 years later! Gotta enjoy what you do!’

(Top photo from left to right: Howard, Robbie, Dave and Garrett.)