B-Side Guys

Rural romanticism often glosses over broken tractors and gravel piles. The Mallett Brothers Band refuses this simplification on “Dogs and Horses,” their latest single featuring piano legend Chuck Leavell of Rolling Stones and Allman Brothers fame.

Released February 6th ahead of their forthcoming album Higher Up in the Hills, the track establishes itself immediately as a working-person’s love letter. When Luke Mallett sings “It’s Dogs and Horses, It’s hammers and nails/It’s sitting on sixteen yards worth of gravel and the starter on the tractor fails,” he grounds romantic notions of country living in tangible frustrations.

The arrangement brilliantly mirrors this dichotomy. Fiddle and harmonica provide traditional Americana touchstones while Leavell’s piano and organ work (recorded at the historic Capricorn Studios) adds sophisticated layers that cascade alongside electric guitars. This instrumental tension perfectly supports lyrics about balancing incompatible lifestyles.

“We’re just trying to keep the dream alive just as long as we can stand/And everything we’re gonna try to build, we’re gonna try to build it with our own bare hands” captures both the determination and exhaustion inherent in rural self-sufficiency. Mallett’s vocals convey weathered resilience rather than naive optimism.

The song’s power lies in its autobiographical honesty. Luke’s lyrics directly address balancing touring musician life with supporting his wife’s commercial horse farm in Maine: “It’s hard livin’ but the livin’ we chose, never knowing what the day’s gonna bring.” This specificity gives authenticity to broader observations about finding “beauty and a little bit of peace in the simpler things.”

Leavell’s contributions elevate without overshadowing the band’s core identity. His piano flourishes accentuate rather than distract from narrative details like “hoping we’ve got money for the hay and the bales are put away before there’s snow in the fields.”

“Dogs and Horses” ultimately celebrates commitment through difficulty rather than despite it, offering a mature vision of rural American life where love means showing up amidst broken tractors and mounting bills.