“I had the chorus for over a year, but I couldn’t figure out how to make it work,” says Taylor Goldsmith, of L.A.-based Dawes, referring to the title track on the indie band’s new album, All Your Favorite Bands (Hub Records). “It’s a really short and simple song,” he adds, but it took some tinkering by Goldsmith along with Jonny Fritz to complete. “They all have different stories,” Goldsmith says about writing the other eight new tracks. The longest song on the record, “Now That It’s Too Late, Maria,” a sprawling and plaintive nine-minute mid-tempo reflection on life and love, came together in one night. “Nothing’s sadder than a streetlight shining on an empty sidewalk,” sings Goldsmith who is joined by his little brother Griffin Goldsmith on drums, Tay Strathairn on keyboards and Wylie Gelber on base. As the song concludes, Goldsmith adds, “There will always be a part of you that’s with me, and you sure as hell better feel the same.” The track is wrenching and even snide at times, but Goldsmith’s dry wit is always charming. Dawes recorded the new album, the band’s fourth, in Nashville at Woodland Sound Studios with David Rawlings as producer. Rawlings even stepped into the booth to play acoustic guitar on “Somewhere Along the Way.”

“This is our first time making a Dawes record in Nashville,” says Goldsmith. He likened recording studios to instruments, saying producers like Rawlings can manipulate tones inside their spaces. “They know how to get sound out of their studio. It’s like you know how your guitar plays,” he adds. To prepare, Dawes played all the new songs on a short tour before the five-week Nashville session. “Throughout our career we’ve played songs live and then recorded them and we wanted to get back to that,” says Goldsmith. As the band plays dates in the Midwest, Canada, and the East Coast before heading back to California for an October 3 ensemble show at L.A.’s Greek Theatre, Goldsmith says some of the new tunes are quickly becoming old standards. “‘All Your Favorite Bands’ seems to resonate with every audience, so I’m looking forward to playing it more,” he adds.

by Elizabeth Varnell

 

Pictured: Dawes’ Griffin Goldsmith, Tay Strathairn, Taylor Goldsmith, and Wylie Gelber.
Photo by: Dan Martensen

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