Quietly gripping, deceptively gleaming record.
Album Cover 'Stories Don't End.'
Following their critically acclaimed albums North Hills and Nothing Is Wrong, the band releases their new album Stories Don’t End on their own HUB records label through Virgin/EMI.
Dawes, were last in the UK at the end of 2012 touring with Mumford & Sons and they are currently embarking on a tour around the US with Bob Dylan. The band decided to work with Kings Of Leon producer Jacquire King on this album.
Stories Don’t End is as smooth as a soft rock album could be. If you’re looking for fireside folk then you’d best look elsewhere, because Dawes are far from that. What they are is a modern band with an old-fashioned song writing ability.
With their soft-rock style coloured with tints of country, Dawes' previous two albums have been relatively successful but I believe that this will be the album to lift them out of obscurity. Although the melancholy tone of the album wearies a little, it could be their strongest effort to date.
The Rolling Stone are calling their new album a ‘Quietly gripping, deceptively gleaming record.’
Some the highlights of the album include the soulful From a Window Seat, with foot-tapping beats and smooth raspy vocals from lead vocalist Goldsmith, it is definitely the gem the album.
Hey Lover is short and sweet upbeat ballad surrounded by several acoustic guitars; the track is infectious and fun. Whereas, the titled track Stories Don’t End is sombre yet soothing.
There were a lot of pleasant tracks on the album but I wasn’t keen on the slow-burning track Side Effects or Something In Common; instead of the soothing effect that was attended I felt the melody was a little too flat.
The lead vocalist Taylor Goldsmith holds no secrets. He bares his soul, his influences and his emotions and you can feel the passion behind his voice. They remind me of Mumford & Sons, they are just less country and a little more sincere with the meaning behind their lyrics.
Stories Don't End is a massively diverse album in terms of tone. Dawes dabbles in slow, sparse blues with Just My Luck, but they add in elements of folk on the acoustic Someone Will and decide to have a major change to pop rock in Hey Lover. Despite it being a collection of fantastic songs, its slower numbers pulls down the quality of the album as a whole.
Songs like Just My Luck and Something In Common are ruined by moments where the bass drum peaks and crackles in the speakers. Dawes, seem to have gone for an airy, live sound which has its pitfalls, these imperfections being one of them.
On the other tracks, however, it is easier to hide these distractions, such as on the euphoric Most People, which has glorious sunshine hooks. From The Right Angle is another huge, hooky song which will sound great live with its layers of guitars taking centre stage.
Stories Don't End is promising despite the few imperfections, Dawes will continue to grow and impress, I’m sure of it.
Stories Don’t End is available now.
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