The mysterious Dummy has caught our attention with their second track release ‘Doggy Song’. Dummy weaves samples of Destiny Child’s ‘Say My Name’ with weird electronics, steady percussion, pitched down grime bass and the classic R&B sound of featured vocalist Joy Postell, who echoes Beyoncé’s “when no one is around you” by finishing the sentence, “decisions get confusing and life gets less amusing.” If you thought the eclipsing of this track with howling wind and lapsing waves wasn’t unusual enough, then you clearly haven’t watched the accompanying music video. It features two characters, a young woman wrapped in a world of phones, social media and headphones and an older gentleman equally lost in his realm of junk, bills and admin. The only connection between the two is a Snapchat announcing the death of someone’s pet dog. This video really trippy with a touch of ‘80s pop culture. Yet, listening to the melancholic alt-R&B, Bey’s constant reminder that you’re on your own, Postell’s own forlorn clarifications and the view of these two lost protagonists, ‘Doggy Song’ suddenly becomes an ode to loneliness, possibly even grief and depression. The more you listen, the more Dummy’s intention reveals itself. - HT