Best be on alert because A Giant Dog is coming this way. The Austin band release their Merge debut Pile on May 6 and follow it up with a Midwest and East Coast tour that includes two stops in New York City. Last week, they leaked the lustful third single off the record, “Jizzney”. You can listen to it below. We’ve also posted the previously shared singles, “Sex & Drugs” (video) and “Get With You and Get High,” as well as some photos and a brief video we shot at one of their sets at SXSW last month.

With lead singer Sabrina Ellis center stage, A Giant Dog puts on a ferocious live show. Ellis is a bit of a wild child with some majestic pipes. She may not be all that tall, but her playful personality, intensity, and outrageous abbreviated outfits make her a commanding presence. We were completely transfixed at the show we caught. Ellis was like a woman possessed by the demon spirit of rock ‘n’ roll. The other members of the band include Andrew Cashen on guitar and vocals, Andy Bauer on guitar, Graham Low on bass, and Orville Neeley on drums. Ellis and Cashen come up with the group’s lyrics, which are said to cater to losers, freaks, and outcasts.

The band describe their forthcoming LP Pile as being “if Marty McFly time-hopped from a Gershwin score to an acid party with Bowie and Bolan then woke up clutching his skateboard, throbbing hangover, on the edge of a half-pipe in a park in ’90s suburbia.” The album was produced by Mike McCarthy (Spoon, White Denim, Trail of Dead).

As for the songs that have already leaked, “Get With You and Get High” demonstrates that the group has a “romantic” side. The track as been referred as an “abstract party monster ballad,” and it finds Spoon’s Britt Daniel on guest vocals.

A Giant Dog kicks off their tour with an album release show in Austin on May 7. They arrive in New York on May 25 to play Cake Shop (tickets) before hitting Our Wicked Lady in Brooklyn on May 26 (tickets). Scroll down for a list of all their upcoming dates.

Pile is available for pre-order now on CD and LP in the Merge Store, or digitally via iTunes. The first 150 pre-orders of the LP include a free slipmat designed by the band.

A Giant Dog
at Empire Control Room, 3/20/16

A Giant Dog Tour Dates
May 07 Austin, TX – Barracuda (Album Release Party)
May 12 Houston, TX – Satellite
May 13 Dallas, TX – Three Links
May 14 Tulsa, OK – Sound Pony Bar
May 15 Kansas City, KS – The Blind Tiger
May 16 Omaha, NE – Milk Run
May 18 Chicago, IL – Empty Bottle
May 19 Madison, WI – Mickey’s Tavern
May 21 Cleveland, OH – Happy Dog
May 22 Buffalo, NY – Buffalo’s Mohawk Place
May 25 Boston, MA – O’Brien’s Pub
May 26 New York, NY – Cake Shop
May 27 Brooklyn, NY – Our Wicked Lady
May 28 Philadelphia, PA – Girard Hall
May 29 Richmond, VA – Strange Matter
May 31 Chapel Hill, NC – Local 506
Jun 01 Atlanta, GA – The Earl
Jun 03 Memphis, TN – Hi Tone
Jun 09 Columbus, OH – 4th & 4th Fest
Jun 11 New Braunfels, TX – Dia De Los Toadies

(Above band image by Sean Daigle, all SXSW images by Mindy Bond)