Dawes fans should prepare for music that’s a little more aggressive, a little edgier, than what the band has offered in the past.
Taylor Goldsmith, leader singer and songwriter for the band, said the group just finished recording its next — and as yet untitled — album, which they plan to release next year.
“This is more akin to our live show,” Goldsmith said. “When we made the first record, we had never been on tour before.”
Not that the bandmates’ musical roots weren’t deep. Lenny Goldsmith, a former member of Tower of Power and former singer for the Sweat Hogs, is father to Taylor and his brother and drummer/bandmate Griffin. Growing up in what he calls the “grimy” part of Malibu, Calif., creating music was a natural outgrowth of the brothers’ upbringing.
Perhaps it’s not surprising that the band — which is rounded out with Wylie Gelber on bass and Alex Casnoff on guitar — won critical acclaim and comparisons with everyone from Bob Dylan to Bruce Springsteen and Warren Zevon for its debut album, “North Hills.”
Although the bandmates seek to grow musically, fans needn’t fear that will be at the expense of the band’s signature voice.
“For me, when I find a band, I like longevity. Sometimes they throw a [sonic] curveball too early or depart from their own sound too early,” he said. “I know for Dawes we tried to stick to what we really were. We definitely wanted a new, fresh record and a progression, but we don’t want fans to respond, ‘This isn’t the band I fell in love with.’ ”
Instead, Goldsmith once again turned to his personal stories and reflections for his main musical inspirations.
The band also continued to work with Jonathan Wilson, who produced their debut album. Again the band worked in a format that forced the band to perform in the studio and lessened options for technological tweaks. That allowed the band to deliver a live, gritty sound.
“That’s important to give the album some range … and kind of a narrative quality,” Goldsmith said. “Jonathan is such an accomplished musician [himself] that being in the same room with him makes everyone want to deliver. Calling him a fifth member of the band would be doing him a true disservice.”
