Indie rock band The Dogs continue to develop and refine their sound on their new, more pop-oriented album “Camping”, which reflects years worth of experience and musical growth.

The band consists of Whitman senior Matthew Bachmann, and three other members ­–– James Krivchenia, Peter Walters and Rivkah Gevinson –– who grew up in Chicago together with Bachmann.

Their newest album, released on March 1, combines and reworks demos the members wrote while apart during their academic years.

“We write all the songs when we are away from each other and converge in Chicago to record,” said Bachmann.

The group recorded 13 songs over the summer, fine-tuning each track to create a consistent, unified sound.

“When we came in with the songs, they were more pop-oriented and shorter (under 3 minutes),” said Bachmann. “We concentrated on getting a lot of bang for our buck and we concentrated on more lyrical narrative.”

The band attributes their new sound to a change in musical influences.

“We’ve shifted from super Neil Young influenced — so folk-rocky — to more pop, indie rock influenced. Obviously, that will change the sound a lot,” said Gevinson.

The band reworked songs until they felt they were polished enough to include on the album.

“This is the first time we’ve felt that we’ve come out with a product that is really good. We rushed [other albums] because there is a natural tendency to want to finish … But this time we waited and took our time,” said Bachmann.

The Dogs hope to continue making music despite the impending graduation of two of their members. They have scheduled a multiple week August tour from Chicago to New York, and hope to grow as a band through live performance. Members also look forward to sharing their music outside of the confines of the Internet.

“You can only make so much noise on the Internet, and we’ve been getting some pretty good press, but you can only do so much when you are not playing shows,” said Bachmann.

Despite the distance, the band has been able to stay together because of a friendship that transcends The Dogs.

“Those are my best friends so it’s an awesome excuse to just be with them. The best part about it is you are always working and creating something, which makes summer so meaningful,” said Bachmann.

Their music reflects the longstanding friendship that existed before The Dogs.

“I  think  we have a lot of love for each other. It’s really different than being in, say, a band formed on Craigslist,” said Gevinson.