Billie Marten Dog Eared
Billie Marten's Dog Eared arrives as a sunlit, intimate collection that folds memory and domestic detail into a modern Laurel Canyon-tinged folk. Critics agree the record's quiet strengths lie in its tender vignettes and textured arrangements, with “Feeling”, “Planets” and “Clover” repeatedly cited as the album's most affecting moments. Across four professional reviews, the album earned an 85/100 consensus score, a signal that Marten's warm songwriting and collaborative, open-studio feel have resonated with reviewers.Reviewers consistently praise Marten's ability to braid nostalgia, childhood reverie and nature-inflected imagery into songs that feel lived-in rather than decorative. “Feeling” is singled out by all critics for its jangly, lo-fi lilt and Latin-tinged rhythmic spring; “Planets” and “Goodnight Moon” are highlighted for their cosmos-gazing wistfulness and filmic intimacy, while “Crown” and “Clover” showcase the record's brass, pedal steel and electric piano textures. Critics note a warm-versus-underlying-danger tension in the lyrics and arrangements, with moments described as crepuscular wallpaper by some but ultimately rewarding patient listening.
While opinions differ on how immediately essential every track feels, the critical consensus frames Dog Eared as a confident, collaborative step for Marten that favors subtlety over spectacle. For those searching for an answer to "is Dog Eared good" or hunting the best songs on Dog Eared, the consensus score and repeated praise for “Feeling”, “Planets” and “Clover” suggest the record is worth revisiting and dog-earing for its quiet pleasures.
Critics' Top Tracks
The standout songs that made critics take notice
Feeling
4 mentions
"A rubber bridge on the acoustic guitar of Catalan musician Núria Graham adds a spritely Latin ping to single “Feeling”."— The Independent (UK)
Goodnight Moon
3 mentions
"Breathy flutterings of distant saxophone make their way into “Goodnight Moon”, as Marten’s fingers slosh drowsily up and down the fretboard"— The Independent (UK)
Planets
3 mentions
"as Marten sings on “Planets”, “keep the world there”."— The Independent (UK)
A rubber bridge on the acoustic guitar of Catalan musician Núria Graham adds a spritely Latin ping to single “Feeling”.
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
Feeling
Crown
Clover
No Sudden Changes
The Glass
Leap Year
Goodnight Moon
Planets
You And I Both
Swing
What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 4 critics who reviewed this album
Critic's Take
Billie Marten’s Dog Eared finds its best moments in the tender vignettes that double as emotional beacons, notably “Feeling” and “Planets”. The record glows with a sunlit sway and spritely arrangements that make “Feeling” feel like a lived memory and “Planets” a small, cosmos-gazing triumph. Marten’s voice, sensitive yet strong, carries these best tracks with quiet self-belief, turning childhood detail and domestic intimacy into songs that linger. The closer “Swing” cements the album’s confidence with playful, rustic momentum, leaving the listener satisfied and warmed.
Key Points
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‘Feeling’ is the best song because its tender, lived-memory lyrics crystallize the album’s emotional core.
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The album’s core strengths are intimate lyricism, pastoral imagery, and warm, spritely arrangements.
Themes
Critic's Take
Billie Marten drifts through Dog Eared with a domestic, Laurel Canyon warmth that makes the best songs - especially “Feeling”, “Clover” and “Planets” - feel like treasured snapshots. Helen Brown’s ear for texture praises the splashes of electric piano and odd fuzz that make “Clover” swoon and single “Feeling” spring with a Latin ping. The reviewmeasured voice finds the record at times crepuscular wallpaper, yet insists that given time the confident songwriting and mellow musicianship will sink grooves into the soul. Overall, the critic presents the best tracks on Dog Eared as patient, tender songs that reward attentive listening.
Key Points
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The best song, notably “Feeling”, stands out for its spritely Latin ping and single-worthy texture.
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The album’s core strengths are warm, nostalgic production and confident, mellow songwriting that rewards patient listening.
Themes
Critic's Take
Billie Marten's Dog Eared feels like a collection of pocketed memories that keeps pulling you back, and the reviewer's eye lingers on the luminous “Goodnight Moon”, the sunlit “Crown” and the wistful “Planets”. The prose highlights how intimacy and nature braid together - "Feeling" opens on a sunny ode while “Goodnight Moon” blurs a relationship like a film reel. The record's jazz infusions and windchimes are praised as scattered specks of magic, making these best tracks on Dog Eared feel both personal and universal. Ultimately, the album is described as one to be dog-eared, revisited and cherished, which explains why listeners search for the best songs on Dog Eared and keep returning to these standouts.
Key Points
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Goodnight Moon is the best song because it vividly blurs memory and relationship into a cinematic moment.
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The album's core strengths are intimate songwriting, nature-infused imagery, and tasteful jazz and synth flourishes that make it revisitable.
Themes
Critic's Take
Billie Marten’s Dog Eared feels like a warm, communal journey, and the review makes clear the best tracks are the opener “Feeling” and the complementary pair “Crown” and “Clover”. The writer’s voice is admiring and slightly conversational, noting how “Feeling” introduces the record with a "jangly, hazy lo-fi lilt" and how “Crown” and “Clover” continue that generous intimacy. Emphasis is on collaboration and texture - trumpet, pedal steel, piano and percussion knit with Marten’s crisp vocals to make these songs the album’s most immediate pleasures. The review frames these as the standout moments that best answer the question: the best songs on Dog Eared are those that foreground its rich, sparkling layers.
Key Points
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The opener “Feeling” is best for introducing the album’s jangly, hazy lo-fi textures and collaborative arrangements.
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The album’s core strengths are its collaborative, open-studio energy and layered modern folk instrumentation.