Lost Dog Street Band’s brand new album Survived is finally here, and it’s even better than expected.
In addition to three solo albums, Survived marks prolific frontman Benjamin Tod’s 8th album with Lost Dog Street Band, and to add an element its story line, there was a period of time in which he thought this record may never happen. At the beginning of 2023, the band was in the midst of an indefinite hiatus from touring, and Tod admittedly was in the initial stages of grieving the band’s death and focusing on his solo career. He felt he had come to a point where Lost Dog Street Band had served its purpose as a creative output, and the art he had his sights on making was better suited as a separate endeavor.
That sentiment was put to rest fairly quickly, though, and luckily so, as the music released today overcame Tod and Lost Dog Street Band was back in the studio shortly thereafter, with Survived as the result.
With an expanded version of the longstanding band lineup that, in addition to Tod, features his wife Ashley Mae on fiddle and Jeff Loops on upright bass, LDSB has added drummer Ben Duvall and pedal steel player Tebbs Karney to the outfit, resulting in an even bigger and better sound than before.
Anyone familiar with Tod and Lost Dog Street Band knows that he has lived quite the life, and has plenty of stories to tell, both good and bad, as a result. Through 10 well thought out and intentionally placed tracks, Tod does just that, reflecting on perseverance through a life of vagrancy and addiction and channeling the sorrow and tribulations into art, with the album’s aura encapsulated in the refrain of the title track – “Lord I have survived, Lord how have I survived.”
With songs that cover an array of heavy topics including addiction, death, hopelessness, and love, or a at times a lack thereof, Survived tells stories of Tod’s experiences over the years and some of the characters with whom he has crossed paths, while juxtaposing both the tormented and optimistic thoughts that have run through his mind along the way. And in typical Lost Dog Street Band fashion, the intricate instrumentation provides a sonically pleasant backdrop to the deftly introspective and emotion-evoking lyricism that flows from Tod’s pen.
Check out Lost Dog Street Band’s 8th record Survived below with a few of my early favorites:
“Divine To Be”
“At age 13 I learned from these I spoke of in this song
On Lower Broad in Nashville I watched it all go wrong
It’s been dais that the music’s dead, I’d just say it’s gone
Gone to hell and gone to jail and gone back to the farm”
“Son of Tennessee”
“You ain’t gettin’ out of here alive
And you can’t take it with you when you go
And the hardest part of living ain’t the dying
It’s the fear of everything that we don’t know”
“Hubbardville Store”
“Survived”
“There’s a heavy weight at the burning stake
Living like you had died
Attrition takes at the pearly gates
Lord I have survived
Lord how have I survived”
And there are still a handful of opportunities to hear these songs live as Benjamin Tod and Lost Dog Street Band continue their tour in promotion of the album. If they’re coming to a city near you, and it’s not already sold out, you’re not going to want to miss it.
Lost Dog Street Band Tour Dates
April 26 – Portland, ME – State Theatre
April 27 – South Burlington, VT – Higher Ground Ballroom
April 29 – Boston, MA – Royale
May 1 – Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg
May 3 – Philadelphia, PA – Brooklyn Bowl – Philadelphia
May 4 – Washington, DC – The Howard
May 5 – Charlottesville, VA – Jefferson Theater
May 8 – Charleston, SC – Music Farm
May 10 – Asheville, NC – The Orange Peel
May 11 – Charlotte, NC – Neighborhood Theatre
May 12 – Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse
*Support from The Resonant Rogues on all dates
