dawes

Dawes | All Your Favorite Bands

 

Dawes is a hard band to pin down. Sometimes I love listening to them and sometimes they put me right to sleep. They also seem to be a hard one for a larger audience to fully embrace, with part of their sound displaying strong influences of 60s and 70s rock, while also leaning heavily on contemporary pop-rock. The True Music Fan ™ in me relates to what they call the “Laurel Canyon Sound” including past luminaries like Gram Parsons, Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne, CSNY, and Neil Young himself. But their more radio-friendly work ain’t too bad either, and people have liked it enough to feature it in the background of popular shows like Fringe, American Dad, and Parenthood. Dawes has that seamlessly fitting in the background thing going pretty well whether it’s playing out of your stereo as you cook Sunday breakfast, or whether they are acting as the backing band for artists like the aforementioned Browne, Conor Oberst, John Fogerty, and Robbie Robertson.

Still this band is too talented to be just the bridesmaid. Their four studio albums including the newly released All Your Favorite Bands, show their depth and ongoing attempt to make accessible folk-rock music. Whether the slow and beautiful “That Western Skyline” from their debut, or the hard driving “If I Wanted Someone” from Nothing is Wrong, they’ve successfully blended the rock from decades past into their more modern sound. Other pop-rock bands have played the same cards lately such as The Counting Crows who first released a cover album containing mostly songs from that era (as well as a Dawes cover) then followed it up with Somewhere Under Wonderland that was influenced as much by the 70s as their own earlier work. Elsewhere, upcoming collaborators Sam Beam and Ben Bridwell have embraced the past, with Bridwell’s Band of Horses’ Mirage Rock using Glyn Johns (The Rolling Stones, Clapton, Zeppelin, The Who, and The Eagles) as their producer, while Beam’s Iron & Wine expanded their sound on their last two albums to heavily include 70s jazz and pop.

Starting with “From a Window Seat” from their last album Stories Don’t End, Dawes has also begun to embrace the jazzier styles of that past. Why not add Steely Dan to their obvious influences, as everyone who loves music seem to love them, right? “I Can’t Think About it Now” from the new album has that same feel and some guitar breakdowns that I read the band had in them but never actually heard myself. It’s awesome. I don’t know why they’ve been holding out. Other tracks on the new record like “To Be Completely Honest” are structured more like pop-rock songs, but also included enjoyable little guitar solos that Dawes has only sparsely used in the past. Later, to close out the All Your Favorite Bands they jam out even more, this time for almost 10 minutes on “Now That It’s Too Late Maria”. Dawes hasn’t strayed completely away from catchier pop songs, providing “Things Happen” and ”Right on Time” on this record, but their foray into more electric solos over more softer, pop tracks from the last album are certainly welcome.

When I write about Dawes releasing pop songs, I hope that doesn’t come off as an insult, because their pop songs are coming from a better time for pop music. A time when hits could be blended with folk and rock instead of EDM and the worst types of hip hop. Listening to All Your Favorite Bands recalls the music of sometimes collaborator, Jackson Browne, strongly hints (screams?) at their love for Neil Young and The Band, and borrows the jazz sensibilities and ability to stretch out a song forever and ever from Steely Dan. And I hesitate to mention them as people seem to regard them as toxic these days, but the title track is a somewhat corny ballad that would be hard not to remind you of The Eagles. For better or worse, their influence can be found on this album as well as the previous three.

It sure is fitting that with an album titled All Your Favorite Bands, Dawes would be putting on full display their influences, most of which created their best music over 40 years ago. More recent influences like Wilco or Jason Isbell are present but those artists also recall sounds from the past. If you like the wave of bands that embrace the folk, country, and pop from the ‘60’s and ‘70’s but for whatever reason Dawes has been stuck in background for you, then it’s time for you to start appreciating. Their sound is a little more polished than some of the rock acts they are associated with, but they are clearly talented musicians who are now showing it even more in the studio. And if you already like Dawes, well, just know that while some catchier songs are replaced with instrumental jams this time around, you should not be disappointed.

The Drink: Bowen’s Pure California Whiskey

 

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Bake

I'm nothing. Maybe less than nothing. I also write.