flyctory.com

Dawes – Misadventures Of Doomscroller

Florian Buechting Media Review No Comments

Dawes - Misadventures Of Doomscroller

Dawes - Misadventures Of Doomscroller
4.1

Rating

 4.1/5

Flyctory.com Pros

  • Very good musical / instrumental skills
  • Epic songwriting and storytelling

Misadventures Of Doomscroller is already the eighth album by the band Dawes. As their last six album all made it to the Top 5 of the US Folk album charts, this album was definitely very interesting to me, when I received it through a promotion company. Release date is 22nd June 2022.

 

Dawes – About The Artist

Dawes are an US-American folk rock band, founded in 2009 in Los Angeles. The name is based on a predecessor project named Simon Dawes. The band consists of four members, Taylor Goldsmith (guitar, voals), Wyle Gelber (bass), Griffin Goldsmith (drums, percussion) and Lee Pardini (piano, organ, synth). While their debut album North Hills (2009) did not have any commercial success, they grew significantly with the later  releases. Two of the band’s albums, All Your Favorite Bands (2015) and We’re All Gonna Die (2016), even topped the US Folk Charts. In this era, the band also had some success in European markets. The previous Dawes album release was Good Luck with Whatever, which peaked on the fifth spot of the US Folk charts in 2020.

 

Dawes – Misadventures Of Doomscroller – Track by Track

The seven track album lasts 46 minutes.

1. Someone Else’s Cafe / Doomscroller Tries To Relax

Your vitals are stable
In your stupid beret
But you’re still waiting tables
In someone else’s cafe

Seven songs, 46 minutes. The reason for that are tracks like the opener, which is 9:26 minutes by itself. The first three songs with a total playtime of roughly 19 minutes have already been released by Dawes, by the way. The song has a really nice groove, rather reminds me of blues rock than of folk rock. Towards the middle of the track, the spirit of the song changes dramatically. Doomscroller Tries To Relax is a beautiful rock melody with epic instrumental parts (piano, organ, guitar). Nice opener.

2. Comes In Waves

Apart from the outro track, Comes In Waves is one of the two short songs of the album. In the context of this album, this means that the second track just lasts five and a half minutes. The central phrase of the song is It comes in waves. Nice melodic folk rock with a beautiful bass groove in the background.

3. Everything Is Permanent

The third track on this album (and the last one already released as a single) is Everything Is Permanent. Even though Taylor Goldsmith’s gentle voice is again beautifully presenting the lyrics and the melody, the song’s style is very different from the two before. Some parts are very gentle, almost having a touch of dream pop – others nicely work with the sound of the electric guitars. Especially towards the middle of the song, Dawes beautifully work with the main theme and varies it. Good one.

4. Ghost In The Machine

The long keyboard melody lines of Ghost In the Machine lead to a touch of jazz in the fourth track. Thereby, Dawes creates a very rhythmic, groovy, energetic sound. Drummer Griffin Goldsmiith showcases his talent very much as well. A very different sound than I expected after listening to the first four songs. But I definitely like it.

5. Joke In There Somewhere

Regarding the melody and the way vocals are used, Joke In There Somewhere reminds me of early Genesis recordings with Peter Gabriel on the microphone. Lovely storytelling – I simply love to Dawes and their stories in here. By the way, this is the shortest song of the album, 5:24 minutes.

About these buildings and the asphalt
In their natural habitations
The pigeons, cats and rats and parasites
This wild and dancing city
Conducting perfect orchestrations
The way a stranger wishes us goodnight

6. Joke In There Somewhere (Outro)

The fifth song closes with this 98 seconds instrumental outro. Nice recording. Could have been part of the previous track as well.

7. Sound That No One Made / Doomscroller Sunrise

The nine minute final track dares go start with a long intro, before the band is stepping inside the Sound That No One Made. This part of the track is a beautiful, soft and melodic folk recording. The Doomscroller Sunrise, however, has a very dramatic and rocking beginning, before it also has very melodic elements. A very epic, dramatic listen.

 

Dawes – Misadventures Of Doomscroller – Spotify

Here is the album on Spotify:

 

Dawes – Misadventures Of Doomscroller – My View

Misadventures Of Doomscroller is indeed a fascinating listen. Dawes takes us on long journeys with musical excellence and dramatic depth. Even though the individual tracks are long, their never bore the listener. I absolutely enjoy it.

 

Folk Rock postings

Here are all my postings related to folk music and rock music:

 

Greater Los Angeles – Travel Reviews

Here are all travel related postings featuring the Greater Los Angeles area:

 

, , ,

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *