Dawes- Oh Brother
Label: Dead Ringers
Producer: Taylor Goldsmith, Griffin Goldsmith, and Mike Viola
It’s only been a mere two years since Dawes’ last studio album, 2022’s intensely evolutionary Misadventures of Doomscroller, but that period has brought plenty of change to the respected folk-rock group. Oh Brother marks their first outing since being splintered in half to two brothers, lead vocalist and guitarist Taylor Goldsmith and percussionist Griffin Goldsmith. It also marks their first record with new label, Dead Ringers, and production collaboration with friend Mike Viola. To suggest that these changes result in the feeling of an artistic liberation on this record would to be completely ignore the aggressive creative aspirations of the preceding Doomscroller, which found the group swiftly melding their literate wit and wisdom with a bolder classic rock sound. Nevertheless, Brother does find the siblings traversing further down this more rock-oriented path, and with a confidence that, while ever present previously, feels more relaxed and assured this round. This album offers some of the year’s most intoxicating guitar grooves, with both Taylor and wizard Trevor Menear delivering an onslaught of thick but loose bouts of jamming that indulges in both straight-forward guitar-rock, but also in flourishes of everything from California country-rock and slow-burning blues to the heavier shades of the group’s Laurel Canyon leanings, particularly on the disc’s second side. Viola’s nimble sonic touch proves to be a true champion throughout the record; he leans into the expansive palate of Doomscroller while still fleshing it out enough to give this LP a more natural flow. This approach captures the same musical excellence with the additional, precise balance needed to never overshadow the trademark inquisitive and reflective tone of Taylor’s vocals, or the unrelenting specificity and quirky imagery that have always made his lyrics among the most fetching in the industry. The group’s unmatched narrative bite has only heightened along with that of their sonic one, as evidenced through pointed outcries against celebrity and superficiality (“Mister Los Angeles” and “House Parties”), musings on romantic disappointment (“Still Strangers Sometimes”), and analysis of the painful dichotomies between a thriving life and a passive one (“Surprise!”, “King of the Never Wills”, and “The Game”). Seriously, Taylor Goldsmith is severely overdue for inclusion in the zeitgeist’s discussions of this era’s greatest songwriters. All of this builds up to the album’s excellent finale, “Hilarity Ensues”, which evokes classic stylistic signatures of both Billy Joel and Stevie Wonder while spotlighting a classically charming Dawes storytelling POV, i.e. “knuckleheads falling in love”. It intertwines the Goldsmiths’ ever-witty sarcasm with flawed romantic examinations of the every-day simplicities that actually make life most beautiful, and unsurprisingly there’s plenty of underlying social commentary sprinkled in for good measure as well. It’s the perfect bow for this vibrantly moving, entertaining, and ever-relatable album. Dawes’ down-sizing shows no signs of damaging their artistic excellence. If anything, it’s only further elevated it. They remain one of music’s most rewarding, and mysteriously underrated acts.
Track Listing:
- “Mister Los Angeles” (Taylor Goldsmith)
- “Front Row Seat” (Goldsmith)
- “Still Strangers Sometimes” (Goldsmith)
- “Surprise!” (Goldsmith)
- “House Parties” (Goldsmith)
- “King of the Never-Wills” (Goldsmith)
- “The Game” (Goldsmith)
- “Enough Already” (Goldsmith)
- “Hilarity Ensues” (Goldsmith)
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