Dogstar have been trying to make a go of their sleek, post-grunge alt-rock for decades, but bassist Keanu Reeves’ and drummer Robert Mailhouse’s pesky day jobs as actors keep getting in the way. Now they have planned a third album, Somewhere Between the Power Lines and Palm Trees, due out Oct. 6, and a sleek new video for the song “Breach.”
The track is a slow-throbbing rocker in the vein of Urge Overkill or Queens of the Stone Age, in which singer-guitarist Bret Domrose sings, “And everything you want, it lies there just beyond your reach/but you’re pushing hard enough to breach.” Mailhouse responds to each verse with creepy heavy breathing, and Reeves enjoys the spotlight about two minutes in with a pulsing, single-note bass solo. “Turn it way up,” the band said in a statement. “We hope you enjoy it.”
The band formed in 1991 when Mailhouse, who had starred on Days of Our Lives and a one-episode bit part on Seinfeld, met Reeves in a supermarket, and they hit it off. Reeves, by that part, was already known for his roles in River’s Edge, Dangerous Liaisons, and Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure. Domrose joined in 1994. Reeves and Mailhouse both appeared in Speed, and Dogstar was featured in the movies Me and Will (1999) and Ellie Parker (2005). The band released an EP in 1996, as well as their debut album, Our Little Visionary Zoo, and another album, Happy Ending, in 2000.
The band announced its reunion in May and played its first live gig in more than two decades at Napa Valley’s BottleRock Festival. The band kicked off a tour this month with more dates planned in November and December. In addition to the regular dates, the band will play Will Ferrell’s “Best Night of Your Life 2” benefit at L.A.’s Greek Theatre on Oct. 21.
Somewhere Between the Power Lines and Palm Trees track list:
1. Blonde”
2. “How the Story Ends”
3. “Everything Turns Around”
4. “Overhang”
5. “Dillon Street”
6. “Lily”
7. “Lust”
8. “Glimmer”
9. “Sunrise”
10. “Sleep”
11. “Upside”
12. “Breach”