‘Dead Cool’: Leeds band Household Dogs release new single on Come Play With Me

Come Play With Me have been releasing split 7” singles, mainly from Leeds-based bands, since 2015. Previous artists to feature on these releases include Team Picture, Dead Naked Hippies and Treeboy & Arc, among many others. It is fair to say, then, that Come Play With Me certainly know what they are talking about when it comes to great tunes from the Leeds region, so it was exciting to hear about their new release featuring Household Dogs and 52 Hertz Whale on a split eco-mix 7” single.

With only a handful of releases since their first single ‘Will my dreams be electric tonight?’ in 2019, Household Dogs have received praise from the likes of BBC 6 Music’s Tom Robinson and have toured with Snapped Ankles and The Blinders. Their new single ‘Dead Cool’, which features on the Come Play With Me 7” single, is a moody post-punk exploration of modernity with lead singer Declan’s delivery evoking an a sense of entrapment in the banality of life, and also an escape from that. The song has the style of early Echo & the Bunnymen crossed with more modern post-punk/rock bands – Lacuna Common or Shame, for instance. Whilst these influences are certainly present within ‘Dead Cool’, the track still retains a feeling of originality which will likely set this group apart from the seemingly endless amount of wannabe post-punk bands popping up around Leeds, and further afield. 

Those who witnessed Household Dogs excellent set at Long Division Festival in Wakefield last weekend will already be aware of the excitement surrounding the group, and how excellent their live performances are. For a full review of Long Division 2022, and the Household Dogs performance, keep an eye on The Gryphon website!

For those of you who would like to purchase the split 7″ Come Play With Me record, it is available in all good independent record stores – including, locally, The Vinyl Whistle in Headingley.