Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

The modern age has taught us many things that our ancestors would have balked at, it may be just the way things work out, that our very nature is pre-disposed to argue with a voice that is full of nonsense, that we have forgotten the art and point of debate with civility in our hearts, that when we suffer defeat at the hands of those with greater persuasive qualities or indeed that their philosophy is of greater sound text, we belittle ourselves by believing all is lost and not Lost Is Not Losing.

Politics is innate, it is part of our heritage, part of very being, but there are ways to display our feelings, whether in the real world or in the realm of the social media, and nothing truly ever beats the protest of the glorious song which can change people’s minds. It is a formula that works and perhaps none more so in tracks that Doghouse Roses have placed on their album Lost Is Not Losing; what is different though is the way that those songs carry themselves, with imploring vocals from Iona Macdonald, the songs Feed The Monster, New Year Rag and After Sun are ones that guide rather than dictate judgment.

It is not just in these three tracks to which the band really stretch the sinew, the ligament of song writing and classic argument, in the album’s opening track Pour, Lost Is Not Losing is a muscle that quivers, it is the muscle that goes rigid and holds the 1000 pound weight aloft but all the time with smile of velvet wrapped across its face.

With tracks such as Crooked Life, Diesel Engine and Days Of Grass And Sun, Iona Macdonald and Paul Tasker, alongside an array of tremendous and much values musicians, including Craig Laurie on drums and Steph McGourty on double bass and bass guitar, Lost Is Not Losing is a gifted album, strong, durable and one that physically stands up to scrutiny.

Lost Is Not Losing is an album in which the muscle of strong opinion doesn’t falter but is enhanced and unified, sometimes to lose is not to have lost but instead is the precursor to an even greater sense of argument and agreement.

Ian D. Hall