Looking Ahead: Dawes

Advance Notice
by Julie Stoller

Saturday - 11/6/10
Bowery Presents at Royale
w/ Vetiver & Wildfowl


Never-Before-Seen Photos
Dawes at Newport Folk Festival
photos by 5342 Studios

Originally a post-punk band calling themselves Simon Dawes, they shortened their name to Dawes and developed more of a dreamy and wistful folk-rock sound with harmonies strongly influenced by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and owing much to the Laurel Canyon sound (CSNY, Kim Fowley, The Byrds, The Eagles, Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne...). I first saw them at Great Scott in February of last year, not long after their debut album "North Hills," and was deeply impressed by the instrospection and warmth of their music and the connection they had with their audience. Heartfelt and chock full of the California sunshine from whence they came.


Their songs are inspirational and at times spiritual (Love Is All I Am). There are tributes to their West Coast home (That Western Skyline), and songs of soul-searching and redemption ("Oh, you can judge the whole world on the sparkle that you think it lacks; you can stare into the abyss, but it's staring right back." - When My Time Comes).

RSL Streaming Photo Album
Dawes at Newport Folk Fest 51 - Summer 2010

photos by 5342 Studios

Dawes will be at Royale on November 6, preceded by a Newbury Comics in-store at the Faneuil Hall, Boston store at 3pm. In September, they took a little time out to record a new album which will see its release in May of next year. Quite likely we'll hear a few new selections on Saturday.

This looks to be a terrific lineup as well. San Francisco-based Vetiver features gentle and dreamy melodies and singer-songwriter Andy Cabic's romantic lyrics. Imagine a pleasant walk through a sunny forest. Tight Knit is their fourth full-length release (on Sub Pop Records, 2009). Peter Wolf Crier (from Minneapolis) is the singer-songwriter and percussive duo of Peter Pisano (The Wars Of 1812) and Brian Moen. Quirky falsetto vocals, acoustic guitar and inventive percussion make for an intriguing lo-fi folky-bluesy sound. Their debut album, Inter-Be, was released back in May on Jagjaguwar.



Dawes
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