Dogheart: 'Holding Out' [Video Premiere]

Portland trio Dogheart first came across our radar some nine months ago when they dropped the broodingly catchy single “Dead Love” as they looked to introduce themselves to the world. (We even included it on our list of The Top 25 Overlooked Tracks of 2014.) Around the same time, they launched a Kickstarter to fund the creation of their debut record, and when that effort was ultimately successful, they headed into the ground-floor studio at The Secret Society for five days to record with producer and engineer Jeff Bond. 

What Burns The Best, due out on February 17, is the result—it’s the 10 best songs from sessions that saw more than 40 conceived, including the aforementioned “Dead Love” and the recently unveiled “Jawbone” (listen below). Replete with shades of Interpol (especially on “Jawbone”) as well as a lethargic Franz Ferdinand, the band also derives influence from local legends like The Exploding Hearts and Stephen Malkmus. Dogheart thrives on straddling the line between pop and garage rock—polished and proficient, yet loud and grimy when it wants to be; clean and messy all at once.

"Holding Out” was “the last song that we came up with before recording our upcoming album,” singer and guitarist Matt Jenkins says. “Written in our practice space with the whole band”—which also includes Oregon natives Cameron Hering on drums and Gray Hildreth on bass—“It came from an idea that we really wanted to use, but hadn't finished yet. We were just a few days from going into the studio to do the tracking for the album, and we got the song done in the nick of time. It turned out to be one of our favorites from the album, so we are glad that we made it happen.”

And Vortex is happy to premiere the video for “Holding Out” to tide you over until the record’s release next week and the band’s celebration at Bunk Bar on March 14.