Dinosaur Pile-Up Take A Swipe At Freebie Celebrity Culture On New Single Big Dogs
Stream the track HERE
Taken from the upcoming album, I’ve Felt Better
Released 22 August via Mascot Records
UK Tour Dates
5 Sep – XOYO, Birmingham – Tickets
6 Sep – Electric, Bristol – Tickets
9 Sep – Garage, Glasgow – Tickets
11 Sep – New Century Hall, Manchester – Tickets
13 Sep – Electric Ballroom, London – Tickets
Dinosaur Pile-Up have just dropped their latest banger, the gnarly Big Dogs, taken from their first new album in six years, I’ve Felt Better, which will be released on 22 August via Mascot Records. You can listen to the track HERE.
Matt Bigland relishes the “power in positivity” of the larger-than-life Big Dogs – a gleeful takedown of ass-backwards celebrity freebie culture where the richest and most successful always ‘eat for free’ while needy nobodies scrabble for scraps.’
“Big Dogs is a big dumb song about the fact that when you’re rich and famous people give you everything for free – but when you’re hustling down at the bottom nobody gives your broke ass anything! And that doesn’t make any sense!!” Bigland says. “It should surely be the other way around!! I love this song because it feels like The Viagra Boys and Pantera fucked and then Slayer turned up for the solo. It’s cool!”
The song features extra vocals from Karen Dió, Larry Hibbitt (Hundred Reasons), and Jaws The Shark. The band have revealed a skit video to accompany it; Matt vs a big dog – check it out over their Instagram page HERE. “I got to hang out with a giant Doberman for the day, which was so cool!” he says. “I love big dogs like that. Giving it a stroke was like stroking an actual horse. Then I got to writhe on the ground for a couple hours with a leaf blower on full power pointed at my head. Which was, y’know… weird.”
Big Dogs is the third single to be taken from the reinvigorated alt-rock heroes. In April, they dropped the raucous and defiant My Way and before that ‘Bout to Lose It, which was their first new music since 2019’s Celebrity Mansions and it announced their return in a big way. The track is five years of pent-up emotion—hope, despair, resignation, and colossal bravery—let loose into a blistering 3:40 minutes of Dinosaur Pile-Up at their absolute best.
They are also “absolutely buzzing” about the chance to let it rip on a UK tour in September, starting on 5th at XOYO, Birmingham. They then play; Electric – Bristol, Garage – Glasgow, New Century Hall – Manchester and finish on 13th September at the Electric Ballroom, London. Tickets are available HERE.
There were six people in the ward the second time that Matt Bigland admitted himself to hospital. Three of them didn’t make it out alive. It’s easy to recognise why they are tightly coiled and ready to go because overcoming life-threatening illness and finding a fresh perspective on life will do that to you. As so much time has passed since their last studio album. “People need clarity about what happened,” he explained. “It’s been so cathartic to lay it out.” He began documenting his story on the band’s Instagram account in December 2024 – You can see it in his own words here: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4.
Their return has been met with a wave of support by the likes of BBC Radio 1 Rock Show – “It’s good to have them back.” said Daniel P Carter – Kerrang Radio, Primordial Radio, Kerrang Magazine, NME, Dork and a host of playlisting across Spotify, Apple, Amazon, Deezer and YouTube – the response was, DPU ARE BACK!
‘I’ve felt better…’ started as a makeshift mantra. “This record is about triumph over adversity through perseverance and resilience,” he explains.
Striking up a relationship online with Karen Dió was a shard of gold in a sea of grey. In the end, real love shines through. Motivating himself to get out of the hospital, Matt kept a photo of a wedding ring on his phone and promised himself that marrying Karen would be his reward for pulling through. That promise was fulfilled in April 2022, and a thread of romance runs from their partnership through the heart of the record. So it’s fitting that Karen is part of his return and the new album.
Ultimately, this album’s seeing the light of day is a huge part of Matt’s happily ever after. He’s more focused on work, home, and life’s simple pleasures than ever. All that has underlined why music matters, which is why the album runs the whole gamut of emotions—exhaustion, mental health, empowerment, celebrity, vulnerability, and, at the heart of the album, love.
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