Dawes – Your Favourite Band

Dawes – All Your Favorite Bands

Dawes are like the New York Yankees, Hugo Chavez, bratwurst, and daytime TV. You either love them or you hate them. If you love them, then this is Dawes at their best. The schtick this time around is that the album was recorded pretty much live in the studio. That’s a good strategy, because the easiest criticism to lay at their feet is that their overdubs are overdubbed. So, while trying to recapture the live experience in the studio setting is hardly an innovation, it is a smart move. And it works really well. The most noticeable difference this time around is the vocals. Taylor Goldsmith is there right in front of you. And he sounds good. Alive. What also ends up working really well are the very slight flaws. The guitar solo on ‘Don’t Send Me Away’ doesn’t come in completely right. But, so what? And a perfectly crafted Dawes album wouldn’t have allowed quite such a long mid-song hiatus on ‘I Can’t Think About It Now’. The bottom line, though, is that an album is only as good as the melodies on it. And here there are some fine ones. ‘To Be Completely Honest’, ‘Right on Time’, both will worm their way into your ears. In a nice way. Dawes are an acquired taste. If you hate Jackson Browne, the Fleet Foxes, and sundry others, then look away. However, if you’ve a taste for harmony, melody, and maybe even rhapsody, then Dawes will become one of your favourite bands.