Try-It Tuesday (7-26-22): Misadventures of Doomscroller by Dawes

 

Note: On Tuesdays I will be reviewing albums that are new or at least new to me.

Album Released: 2022

About Dawes: Formed in 2009 from the remnants of the post-punk band Simon Dawes after co-songwriter Blake Mills left the band. From then on, they have been a folk-rock band.

Members: Taylor Goldsmith (lead vocals, guitar), Griffin Goldsmith (drums), Wylie Gelber (bass) and Lee Pardini (Keyboards)

What I Know: I first got into Dawes when I stumbled upon the song, “A Little Bit of Everything” in early 2010s. I’ve grown found of several other songs including: All Your Favorite Bands, When My Time Comes, and Things Happen. They were also the opening act at the Outlaw Festival (headlined by Willie Nelson) that Jodi and I attended in 2019. They put together an entertaining, tight 30-minute set that day.

Did You Know?: “Doomscrolling” is the action of continually scrolling through and reading depressing or worrying content on a social media or news site, especially on a phone… Taylor Goldsmith is married to actor/singer Mandy Moore.

Why this album: Well, I do know Dawes, but I figured what are the odds that I could start this weekly feature with two albums with opening songs that reference doomscrolling. Not only that, but long opening songs that reference doomscrolling. If you missed, last week I reviewed Metric’s “Formentera” album with an opening song entitled “Doomscroller” that was 10-minutes, 28 seconds long. This week’s opening song “Someone Else’s Café/Doomscroller tries to Relax” clocks in at 9:26.

My thoughts on Misadventures of Doomscroller: This a seven-song album with six of those songs going over the 5:30 mark, and it is bookended by songs over nine minutes long.

• The percussion and guitars are highlights for me in the nine-minute opening track which seems to be a commentary on poisonous nature of social media.
• The lyrics in the second discuss how oceans, electricity, spirituality, and the future all come in waves, hence the chorus and song title “Comes in Waves.” I like the thought and writing; the instrumentation is solid.
• The third tune “Everything is Permanent” clocks in at 8:43 and delves into the permanency of modern life and technology. The song ends with the repeated lines of “Did you really need to cry or be seen crying.” It’s a thoughtful line about how so much of our behavior is performance in the age of constant sharing.
•  The next two songs “Ghost in the Machine” and “Joke in There Somewhere” continue the theme of modern pressures.
• The sixth song is an instrumental entitled “Joke In There Somewhere – Outro.” At 1:37, it feels unnecessary.
• The album ends with the nine-minute “Sound That No One Made/Doomscroller Sunrise” and tries to tie together the entire concept of the album about the decaying of bodies, spirit, and life.

The Wrap: I’m not sure people turn to Dawes for long songs and instrumentation. There are certainly highlights and it’s worth a listen. I wish the vocal tones were a little more varied, as Goldsmith seems smitten with a higher tone than in some of their earlier releases. I guess I am a sucker for a single or two, and that’s what is missing on this album for me.

You’re Up: Let me know your thoughts on this album, or anything new to you that you are listening to this week.