Bryce August of Belonging on “The Dog”: “Bukowski called love A Dog From Hell. Yeats wrote that the mythic Irish hero Cú Chulainn, or the Hound of Ulster, ‘fought with the invulnerable tide.’ All three of the songs on this split were written around what happens when all-consuming emotion – passion, obsession, despair – runs into something protean, elemental and immovable like the sea. ‘The Dog’ in particular is about love, loss and how we go on living, keeping our promises to the dead.”
Formed from the DIY scenes of the Upper Midwest and later merging with the heavier, experimental currents of the Pacific Northwest, Belonging craft a sound that blends punk and screamo urgency with hypnotic sludge, psych, and grunge textures. Their side of The Dog hones emotional volatility into a tightly interlocked suite of songs, moving with heavy momentum.
Themes of disconnection and restraint flare into cathartic release, while melodies and phrases linger long after the songs end. The three tracks — “Hellkite,” “The Dog,” and “Dead Reckoning” — are unsettling, resonant, and deeply human.
On the flip side, Inny delivers three tracks — “The Dog,” “Vessel,” and “Morsel” — that snap and coil with tightly wound precision. Lean, urgent, and built for confrontation, their songs feature sharp guitar interplay, shifting rhythms, and vocals ranging from barked commands to flat-eyed defiance. Where Belonging draws tension from space and gravity, Inny builds it through friction and speed, turning every riff into a pressure point.
The Dog was recorded and produced at Lo Rent Studios and mastered at Saff Mastering, bringing out the full punch and clarity of both bands’ sonic identities. Get it here.
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