Doghouse Records formed in Ohio state when actor turned model Ronald Reagan was nearly wrapped with his second term as President of the United States of America, which today doesn’t sound 1/2024th as bad as what we could be dealing with again. Doghouse Records has since put out LPs from Say Anything, The All-American Rejects, The Get-Up Kids, and every other hyphenated band of all time, and all of these acts are too influential to be considered underrated for this here album ranking piece for this incredible label with an amazing catalog. So now it’s time to work for the man; we work for the man with the hot dog stand. After reading this, swing, swing, and run a four-minute mile.
As Friends Rust “Won” (2001)
Despite the fact that Apple Music incorrectly categorizes Gainesville, Florida’s As Friends Rust’s debut full-length studio album “Run” as an “electronic” effort, the melodic hardcore album should be streamed there repeatedly, and also on all other DSPs; it won’t be the first time, it may even be the tenth, but we have no idea what the ever hell Apple Music’s staff members were smoking with this genre description, so Cupertino, we have a problem, and this is us hating you. The band has two full-lengths in their catalog, and this was the first, which to many who ascribe to nursery rhymes would call the worst, but they’d be wrong, LP. In closing, AFR’s second, “Any Joy,” came out just last year after the band’s second reunion in 2008.
The Bigger Lights “Self-Titled” (2010)
How many bands has Ryan Seaman been in and/or drummed for? Don’t answer that, as the number is certainly dramatically higher than 2010 rock/roll groups, and even if you know, you don’t. Fairfax, Virginia’s The Bigger Lights, Seaman’s beyond underappreciated pop rock act featuring other musicians who have been in far less bands, put out their debut self-titled LP, and faded out shortly after. Pity, as the band could’ve been much, much bigger as they had the hooks and looks to back everything up… It’s so crazy that their Spotify monthly listeners are below a couple hundred thousand, let alone as of press time lower than 1700! Maybe it happened this way as the album came out a tad too late, or possibly a scotch too early. Well, what about us? We don’t wanna wait that long again, so get lost in this album from start to finish.
Cruiserweight “Sweet Weaponry” (2005)
Cautionary tale: Family bands either last as long as the living legends amongst living legends Donny & Marie, or just, for lack of a better word, don’t. This particular section of this DR manifesto will undoubtedly come out wrong, so to be honest, all of this pooch negativity will end pronto, so you can righteously let your confidence become whatever the antonym for “waiver” is. If we keep our game face for the rest of this piece, the defunct four-piece act Cruiserweight is one of the more underappreciated bands in the scene, and, bold take/thought alert, possibly one of the more underrated bands from the rock and roll for your party and your soul hub Austin, Texas. Should we let ourselves depend on this primo posit? Hell no!
The Honorary Title “Anything Else but the Truth” (2004)
The bloody panda image that was the central focus on the actual album cover for Brooklyn, New York’s The Honorary Title’s LP “Anything Else but the Truth” is one that we haven’t been able to get out of our collective heads in about two decades, but sadly, the band’s music just never infected enough noggins to have a career post-2009, and if you want anything else but the truth about a band whose career was cut way too short, please read an inferior publication. The Honorary Title even signed a major label deal after this album, released another full-length frame by frame via Reprise Records, but it didn’t exactly light up the sky, and the band has since to put out any other music since, making there zero reason to celebrate anything ever and ever amen.
Jet Lag Gemini “Fire the Cannons” (2007)
This will be the second and last time that we bring up Spotify monthly listeners in this piece as a non-controversial measuring stick, but how the heck does Mahwah, yes, MAHWAH, New Jersey’s Jet Lag Gemini have below NINE HUNDRED monthly listeners? If it was up to us, and as you know, it most certainly should be, “Fire the Cannons” would be consistently played at Emo Nites every few minutes or hour on the hour, but JLG just didn’t have the staying power to run any city for 21+ year olds in 2024. We hope that this article changes such for JLG, and that the band finds a way to infect TikTok to mobilize tweens to metaphorically go to war for the weaponry.
Koufax “Strugglers” (2008)
Easter eggs for our OCD readers: Koufax was also listed in our underrated Vagrant Records piece with their perfect 2002 LP “Social Life” almost unintentionally starting yours. In this sick and sad world of underration and struggling, Koufax stands firm and tall as one of the more underappreciated and unknown ones on God’s green earth, and you need, we said NEED to check out their full-length studio album “Strugglers” stat! Also, this may be the lone band listed here that can please both nepo baby Coachella attendees and punks way too old to enjoy music and life at Riot Fest. Plus, the album cover for this one rips louder than Hulk Hogan’s non-racist or generally problematic character in “No Holds Barred.” So roll the dice, and take a chance on, take a chance on this LP, and recognize that a California based staff member taught you well.
Limbeck “Hi, Everything’s Great” (2003)
Hi, basically nothing is great, because this Limbeck effort didn’t conquer both Stagecoach crowds and Lollapalooza vixens. Why? Someone is in the doghouse now, amirite? Is it because they’re from the alt-right Proud Boy wasteland of Orange County? Wilco and Limbeck not only have the same amount of syllables in their band name, and play in the vacuous alt-country (what the hell is that?) solar system world, but both acts have VERY different degrees of success. While Limbeck had a solid run of full-length studio records up until 2007, Wilco headlines much larger venues and even put out anal bum cover/buck futter in 2023 called “Cousin,” which may or may not be about Limbeck. Spoiler alert: It isn’t but Limbeck rips, bro, and “Hi, Everything’s Great” may sound sarcastic because it is, but our love for this band and particular album certainly isn’t.
Moods for Moderns “Loud and Clear” (2001)
Detroit has gotten BEYOND gentrified in the years that followed 9/11, but sadly nothing fixed the Motor City act known as Moods for Moderns, and this specific full-length studio album entry, “Loud and Clear,” is the band’s last, and its literal title truly sounds like a record from The Sleeping, but with far less Guitar Hero success. What’s your mood now? Is it contemporary? Any band with a bassist with the last name “Force” truly should’ve awakened the world boisterously and milky white. How does it feel to be the only one to know that you’re right? You mustn’t know. It’s quite funny, at least to us arbiters of humor and taste, that this record has a song called “Two Tracks Left” in the fifth song position, and that there are in fact five others that subsequently follow. That’s rich AND long distance dedication!
Paulson “All at Once” (2007)
The aughts rock world was seemingly sponsored by New Jersey, and even though that’s a bad thing objectively/subjectively, Midland Park’s Paulson deserved endorsement in more blogs, journals, magazines, and MySpace Top Eights! This entry for “All at Once” has a caveat, but we are all for being saucy and spicy little tomatoes, so we will let you know the lowdown dirty truth that it first was released via the reverential One Day Savior Recordings in late-2005, and re-released through Doghouse Records just under a year and a half later; please forgive us for this mention. Paulson, we’re calling on you to make more music as it has been too long since we’ve heard a new song. In conclusion, we need to say that we miss PureVolume and your mom.
River City High “Won’t Turn Down” (2001)
Let’s end this with a bang, shall we? UH HUH! You can’t slow us down in the A.M. or the P.M. So, if this article wasn’t strictly online and came out via the print medium, you couldn’t turn the page down, as this is the last entry here, but please don’t attempt to anyway, as we can’t take that kind of rejection. Richmond, Virginia may be more known for Will Beasley than aughts rock bands, but “Won’t Turn Down” deserves to be played at eleven. In fact, this particular record is likely responsible for the band eventually signing to the major label MCA Records but we plead the fifth on whether or not it caused the band to NOT release music on the label, as it folded during their term. Hard rock never sounded so sad, at least that’s what Belle said one day!