Last year, Chicago’s Dowsing uploaded a video to its Facebook with little explanation. The video advertised an app called Bark Park, which claimed to be the brainchild of Dowsing and Nashville’s Free Throw. Now, the bands have made Bark Park a reality, pairing it with the release of a new split 7-inch between the two bands dubbed Party Year. The A.V. Club is streaming two songs from the split and announcing Bark Park’s availability in Apple’s store today. All downloads of the game also come with a cover of “Everything Is Awesome” where Dowsing and Free Throw join forces to remind everyone that things are, in fact, awesome.


The app was the drunken brainchild of Free Throw’s Justin Castro, but the handiwork came courtesy of Dowsing bassist Mike Politowicz. The app takes a simple premise—there’s a dog in a park that barks when you touch it—and goes from there. The dogs can spin at varying speeds with a slider at the bottom of the app. Swiping left or right gives offers different dogs with different barks and, most importantly, all four songs from the split. Bark Park is the app the world didn’t know it was waiting for. It’s kind of like Pokémon Go, with the added benefit of dogs and not having to go anywhere.


For those looking to buy a physical copy of the split, Soft Speak Records will be releasing it as a benefit for Hopeline Suicide Hotline. It’s available for pre-order now, and Dowsing’s upcoming tour dates can all be found below. Get barkin’, folks.

