The sunny, laid-back vibe of Dawes’ new record Nothing is Wrong might shred just a little harder than the band’s 2009 debut North Hills but, once again, the LA rockers return with a hook and Wurlitzer-laden triumph that recalls their heroes, The Band and Tom Petter & The Heartbreakers. Laid back as it may be though, frontman Taylor Goldsmith’s lyrics undercut that vibe with verses about road-weary rootlessness and uncertainty. Still, Goldsmith enforced that idea that truly, nothing is wrong in the grand scheme of things during an interview from the van as the band toured Florida last week–and thankfully he wasn’t pulled by the state trooper that passed him as we spoke. Dawes are happy to be working and very humble by the ability to do so having carved out scores of passionate fans in nearly two years of constant touring, including Robbie Robertson of The Band, who asked Dawes perform as his backing band this spring.
Dawes return to headline the Cats Cradle on May 18. Luego and Wylie Hunter & The Cazadores open. Nothing is Wrong is out June 7 and features cameos from Jackson Brown and Heartbreaker Benmont Tench. Daytrotter posted the album trailer. The headlining spot is a far cry from the band’s last appearance at the Cradle when Dawes opened for Langhorne Slim in 2010.
Here’s a little more of what Goldsmith had to say to TVD:
You guys recorded both records in the old school analog-style. Why did you choose to go that route?
“It was mainly because we felt that that really brought the best out of ourselves as musicians. When we felt the pressure of recording analog and know we couldn’t as easily edit it as you can with digital recording. That was a huge difference for us. Like, for Griffin, our drummer to know he had to get a full take rather than just ‘play it the best you can and we’ll just edit the kick drum or something if it’s a little off,’ we couldn’t do that. It forces him to really deliver a really great performance.”
Given the upheaval of being on the road almost constantly for the last two years and the somewhat uncertain tone of some of your lyrics, is Nothing is Wrong as an album title being used as a defense or is there truly nothing wrong in your life right now?
“There’s a certain amount of denial or refusal to accept things as being less than ideal. There’s definitely a tongue-in-cheek aspect to it but it’s sort of like, I feel like it’s also not necessarily just like, ‘oh, everything is wrong.’ But, it’s sort of like the position that those songs have taken is that, where it’s like, nothing is wrong if you don’t want it to be. It’s like, yes, these are fucked up situations but there’s still an angle to look at it from. I feel like a lot of these songs what they’re about is like, a guy, finding himself in a certain situation, be it negative or positive and sort of making sense out of it… With Nothing is Wrong, it’s taking responsibility, it’s also trying to aggressively and stubbornly stay positive even if it seems a little unreasonable.”
What was it like working with Robbie Robertson? What was your response when you got the call?
We couldn’t believe it… it was a very special experience. We were very honored that he chose a band rather than session players or even if it was just members of this band, it was all of us and I think that that just shows that he maintains that same principal of knowing how important it is to have a band. He knows that I’m not the best guitar player on the scene and he can get anybody that he wants. but I think that he does maybe at the same time realize that there might not be anybody that understands how to play with Tay and Wylie and Griffin the way that I do and that comes from following each others’ dynamics and listening to each other and having a good sense of how the other guy plays. Being in The Band with a capital “B,” nobody understands that better than Robbie Robertson.
