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Back in 2009, Halifax's Dog Day was poised to be the Next Big Thing on the Canadian indie rock landscape. It had just put out its critically acclaimed sophomore album Concentration — produced by famed Sonic Youth producer John Agnello — and was wracking up serious buzz. The years that followed the release of that breakthrough album came with a series of crippling (and, yes, buzz-killing) lineup changes — but thankfully, the band's core players (vocalist/guitarist Seth Smith and bassist-turned-drummer Nancy Urich) decided to continue making raw, ragged alt-rock as a duo. Dog Day's resultant third album, Deformer, is a wonderfully stripped-down, sloppy-on-purpose, come-as-you-are album that has loads of loose, lo-fi charm (think ragged guitars, yelpy Black Francis/Kim Deal vocals and lots and lots of fuzz). There's a definite late '80s/early '90s feel to this record both in its sound and back-to-basics, DIY recording ethos — and Nothing to Du and In The Woods actually sound like they could be long-lost singles from 1991 — but the duo's energy keeps things sounding fresh. Deformer is worthy of a place on your iPod — particularly if you were a fan of Eric's Trip.