Conor Donohue’s latest, Stray Dogs, may be rooted in Americana, but it exists in a genre-agnostic space that sees his music careening from pop to funk to cosmic country to psychedelic rock on any given track. The result is a refreshingly satisfying playlist that sounds more like a soundtrack with contributions from various artists rather than a standard standalone album.
From the drummer’s count off on the opening “Wasteland,” Donohue begins a deceptively strong swagger, though the song is based on the anxiety brought about by forced isolation during the pandemic. He switches to a falsetto on the driving “Feel That Hit,” and equally compelling earworm, before switching gears a few songs later on the psychedelic mid-tempo “Franklin And Royal.”
The vibe of the music is a reflection of what the New Orleans musician was dealing with at the time, suffering from chronic pain and a series of health issues. “I started seeing a functional medicine doctor and really focusing on my health/healing my body,” Donohue says, discussing the influence on his songwriting at the time. You can hear themes of anxiety and uncertainty throughout the record, like on the title track and songs like “Wasteland,” but there are also moments of optimism throughout.
The dreamy, atmospheric “Elephants,” one of the album’s early singles is also one of the first songs Donohue ever wrote, starting work on it more than a decade ago. The song, accentuated with a steady drum machine and what sounds like a theremin in the faint background adds to the cosmic vibe. And even though the song sits alongside much newer tracks, it works simply because Donohue refuses to settle into a specific genre on this record. The strongest track on the record is “Shape Of Your Hand,” a surprisingly sweet moment.
With Stray Dogs, Donohue is among a handful of modern musicians like Low Cut Connie’s Adam Weiner and Aaron Lee Tasjan that are making remarkable music unconstrained by traditional musical genres.
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