Dosser have been going for six years now, and their sound only gets tighter. The Maryland four-piece are one that rep their home base, and rightly so — Charm City has been long since lauded for its bluegrass, doo-wop, gospel, and jazz legacies, and since the 1980s, it’s been recognized as a modern musical breeding ground for all things punk, hardcore, and alternative. That being said, though Dosser draw on the energy of punk rock, infusing elements of pop-rock and grunge, the band have built their foundation firmly upon the substratum of a long-lost genre: guitar rock. Through foot-stomping moments, in the midst of a pit opening up, melody prevails. It’s a lot trickier than it seems to understand the assignment, and Dosser do so astutely. Across two cohesive, ’90s-flavored EPs and a full-length — 2023’s Violent Picture/Violent Sound — they’ve made this fact clear, even garnering a validating co-sign from Bob Mould, who said, “You may like this if you like guitars.”
Today, there’s more Dosser to dig into, replete with ripe, fuzzy guitar parts, heavier distortion — and vulnerable lyricism. Their new single, “Caught In A Web,” sees the band going grungier, leaning further into their heroes, like Weezer and Jawbox. Embraced by a blanket of instrumental distortion, Will Teague’s vocals slip into electrifying, apathetic rock ’n’ roll — reminiscent of the careless charisma of Pablo Honey-era Thom Yorke or the entire Kurt Cobain catalog. As a result, the track is addictive, haunting, and heartbreaking.
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Guitarist and vocalist Teague describes his deeply personal connection with the song, “‘Caught In A Web’ is a song I wrote about wanting to quit drinking when I couldn’t. I was on my third trial of antidepressants and feeling completely hopeless at the time. It felt like I was always getting in my own way. Deep down, I knew being addicted to alcohol was worsening my mental and physical health, but it was also the only thing that made me feel OK with the discomfort of being me. It’s very difficult to get yourself out of. I’ll be 10 months off drinking when this song comes out.”
As for what’s next, Teage gives us a teaser: “After the release of Violent Picture/Violent Sound, we immediately booked time with Jon Markson at The Animal Farm in Flemington, New Jersey for the fall of 2025. With the money we saved up from playing shows, we recorded two singles in four days to see what we could do with twice the amount of time we spent on each song on VP/VS. With Jon’s intense attention to detail and more space to breathe, we created these two new songs. They serve as a segway into a larger release that will hopefully be out towards the end of 2025.”
