Let's Hear It for the Dogs

Let's Hear It for the Dogs is the tenth studio album from Scottish folk rock duo The Proclaimers, released in 2015 on the label Cooking Vinyl. The album's release was promoted by extensive touring in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, United States, Australia and New Zealand.

The album was the duo's first to be recorded with Dave Eringa, known for his work with Wilko Johnson and the Manic Street Preachers, and featured a sound driven heavily by electric guitars. The album's themes included several dark subjects such as sexual abuse scandals and religious hostilities, with some of the lighter songs relating to relationships and family.

Recording
The album was recorded at Rockfield Studios in Wales and produced by Dave Eringa. As stated by member Charlie Reid, the decision to have Eringa produce Let's Hear It for the Dogs was brought about by an admiration for his work with Manic Street Preachers, and on the Johnson and Daltrey album Going Back Home.

Release
Let's Hear It for the Dogs was released in 2015 through Cooking Vinyl records in the UK on CD and vinyl. In North America, the album was released on CD in May 2015 through Compass Records.

Lyrics and themes
The lyrical themes of Let's Hear It for the Dogs included a number of emotionally-charged topics. "Then Again" appertained to Jimmy Savile and BBC sexual abuse scandals, while "What School?" was a reflection on Scottish religious tension. Lighter moments of the album included "Ten Tiny Fingers", a father-daughter tribute, while "Tuesday Afternoon" was adjudged by AllMusic to be an "epic love-story".

Musical style and arrangements
Let's Hear It for the Dogs is characterized by heavy utilization of electric guitars and drums, with certain tracks incorporating strings ("Tuesday Afternoon") and horns ("Then Again"). The album's opening track "You Built Me Up" has a heavy sound that Mark Holmes of Metal Discovery likened to the duo's roots in 1970s punk rock; band member Craig Reid acknowledged that although he thought the "punk" element had "always been" in their music, it was more noticeable on that song.

Critical reception
Marcy Donelson of AllMusic praised Let's Hear it for the Dogs, observing that "after ten studio albums, they still bring intensity to their down-to-earth, grandly lilting, [...] spirited output".

Songwriting Magazine's Duncan Haskell praised the album, stating that the duo's "gift for original writing remains undiminished".

Legacy
The album track "Then Again", noted for its emotionally-charged subject matter referencing Jimmy Savile and the BBC sexual abuse cases, was ranked at No. 8 on Dig!'s 2022 list "Best Proclaimers Songs: 10 Fiery Classics From The Reid Brothers".

Personnel

 * The Proclaimers
 * Craig Reid - vocals
 * Charlie Reid - acoustic guitar, vocals


 * Additional personnel


 * Stevie Christie - keyboards
 * Sean Genockey - guitar
 * Matt Holland - brass
 * Clive Jenner - drums
 * Bernard Kane - viola
 * Garry John Kane - bass
 * Rose Lawrence - sleeve design
 * Kenny MacDonald - photography
 * Lewis MacDonald - cover design
 * Murdro MacLeod - photography
 * Nathan Stone - cello
 * The Vulcan String Quartet - strings
 * Andrew Walters - violin
 * Joanna Walters - violin
 * Zac Ware - electric guitar
 * Martin Winning - brass


 * Technical
 * Dave Eringa - mixing, production
 * Joe Jones - engineering
 * Ed Woods - mastering