Nate Ruess, half of the songwriting duo behind The Format, said of their major label debut Interventions and Lullabies, "We were pressured to make an album full of singles, and this time we could just do whatever we want." Apparently getting dropped from a major label has done more for their songwriting abilities than one could imagine. Mixing the ambitious instrumentation of Sam Means with Ruess' passionate vocals, Dog Problems is a huge step in the right direction.
The centerpiece of the album is the free-spirited "The Compromise," which explores the marriage of artistic freedom and major labels. Ruess belts out, "I wouldn't call it a sophomore slump. I'd say I'm one step closer to being just where I want to be, away from this scene, away from this machine." The entire album recalls countless examples of this type of contradictory compromise. On the standout track "I'm Actual," Ruess says of corporate music magazines, "You know they don't speak to me, the irony is they won't speak with me."
It is not only Ruess' musicial aspiration that makes him feel like an outcast; he continually cites his age as a rapidly progressing reminder of his replaceability, both in music and in relationships - despite not even reaching 30. Because of this, the 'MySpace Generation' is a popular target of the group. Ruess criticizes in "She Doesn't Get It," "All the girls pose the same for pictures, all the boys got the same girls hair." It is obviously a major concern for Ruess, as in the swinging title track he continues, "Boys in swooping haircuts are bringing me down, taking pictures of themselves." Yet continuing with the contradictory theme of the album, The Format too have a MySpace page, although they nickname the popular website "CreepSpace." Even the cliché "Inches and Falling" has more to its meaning than its silly hook "I love love, I love being in love." Following with "We'll last a month, we'll never speak again, how I love being in love," Ruess once again details the contradictory roles that love and hate play in a relationship.
Dog Problems is certainly held together by the fact that Ruess pushes his voice to the limits, sometimes sounding as if he'll fry-out the microphone. However, don't overlook the musicianship of Sam Means. Ambitious orchestration is present just as often as the standard pop-rock outfit, supplemented with baron acoustic guitar and bouncy piano - sometimes recalling a feel of Queen-era ambition that modern musicians often replace with novelty.
