This Austin punk-rock band released a new album—but you might not hear it on the radio
No matter how long you’ve been in Austin, you’ve probably stumbled upon the sound waves of A Giant Dog, the explosive punk-rock act featuring Sabrina Ellis, Andrew Cashen, Andy Bauer, Graham Low and Daniel Blanchard. The band got its start in 2008 and has since released three full-length albums: Fight, Bone and Pile. Its latest—and second on Merge Records—is titled Toy, and was released on August 25. We sat down with the mercurial Cashen (vocals, guitar) to chat about the new LP.
Does the title Toy mean anything in particular?I like themes. Our first EP we called House because all of us literally lived in the same house. The next LP we called Fight, not even realizing how many future albums we would have. The second LP is called Bone because, you know, sex? Pile because we wanted reviewers to call it a pile of shit, and now Toy because, you know, sex?
How would you describe the band’s sound on Toy?Fun. That’s what a toy is supposed to be.
Was there anything in particular you were trying to do differently than on previous albums?Every band says this, but we didn’t want to make the last record. We experimented with drum machines, Autoharp, way more keys, weird shit. There are still a lot of heavy hitters on this album, but we also weren’t afraid to take a walk on the poppier side of what this band could be.
What’s the biggest difference between the band that made Fight and the one that made Toy?We have a different drummer. His name is Danny Blanchard. I have longer hair. I also