The Earworm Inception

Midway through At Home, Dog Unit’s debut album, at the end of the record’s fourth earworm in succession, there’s a pause for breath. It’s the first time the music has come to a halt since the LP began — the first time this ribbon of sound has been cut, after twenty-plus minutes of motorik groove, nagging riff, and insistent hook — and as a result, it also serves as perhaps the clearest indicator yet that At Home is more than just a collection of individually wound super-melodic instrumental rock songs; it’s a suite of music precision-engineered for a single sitting, complete with resting stops, signposts and tiny diversions in just the right places along the way.

There seem to be few subjects that do not interest my friend Tobias Lindstad. He is well-versed in literature, art, and philosophy, he throws himself into debates with an open mind and has kept his fascination for the mysteries of the universe. Above all, he displays a nearly all-encompassing appetite for good music in the most diverse genres. He never stops finding inspiration in classical and modern chamber music, in cool jazz and free-form improvisation, in avantgarde rock, in folk music, and in subtle pop melodies; really, he finds inspiration in all kinds of beautiful, strange, challenging and/or alluring music.