VIA PRESS RELEASE | Today, Dawes confirm the release of North Hills: 10th Anniversary Edition, a deluxe vinyl reissue commemorating a decade since the release of their celebrated debut album, via ATO Records on September 6th. Upon its release in 2009, the Jonathan Wilson produced album was hailed by Rolling Stone for its “twangy folk rock a la Gram Parsons and Neil Young” and “sweet, Byrds-ian harmonies.” Said bassist Wylie Gelber, “this album is dedicated to my first car, she gave her life for a modest insurance payout, which funded the recording of these songs.”
The 10th anniversary edition of North Hills will include two LPs on translucent red vinyl, a gatefold jacket with gold foil-stamped cover, and a 7” vinyl with two unreleased b-sides, “All My Failures” and “Wilderness.” “We figured at the time that “Wilderness” and “All My Failures” didn’t fit with the rest of the tunes,” Taylor Goldsmith reveals, “but now it’s hard to remember why we thought that. Listening back now, these recordings of these songs seem to share the same North Hills DNA as the original 11 and it feels good to get them out into the world.” Also included will be the album’s original 2009 promo poster, newly expanded artwork, and a digital download. A portion of proceeds will go to Silverlake Conservatory of Music, facilitating dynamic music education across communities and providing scholarships to children whose families would otherwise be unable to afford lessons.
Dawes will also perform the album in full at this weekend’s Newport Folk Festival on Saturday July 27th at 5:30pm on the Quad Stage. “North Hills: Dawes and Friends, the 10 Year Celebration,” will feature an incredible group of unannounced special guests sitting in with the band and can be streamed live on Newport Folk Radio here.
The band is currently on the “An Evening With Dawes: Passwords Tour.” Each night on this tour will feature two sets of music by the band with no opener, and The Houston Press says of their live show: “Whether it’s by means of modest love songs, or outright rock & roll, the band’s mix of charm, musicality, and unmistakable joy in doing what they’re doing, make it nearly impossible not to buy into every note that’s in front of you.” Dawes have also confirmed a European tour with performances in cities including London, Madrid, Berlin, and Zurich. Tickets for all dates are available here.
In the decade since Dawes first emerged from Southern California, the band, consisting of guitarist/singer Taylor Goldsmith, drummer Griffin Goldsmith, bassist Wylie Gelber, and keyboardist Lee Pardini, has evolved and electrified, developing into a forward-thinking, boundary-pushing band for the 21st century. Passwords, their most recent release, is an album for and about the modern age: the relationships that fill it, the politics that divide it, and the small victories and big losses that give it shape.
“We’re living in such a unique moment in history,” says lead singer and songwriter Taylor Goldsmith, “Many of these songs are an attempt to come to terms with the modern world, while always trying to consider both sides of the story.” NPR Music says that with the album, Dawes “returns to its greatest specialty: smooth and ingratiating California folk-rock that never bothers to hide its big, beating, bleeding heart.”
North Hills: 10th Anniversary Edition Track Listing:
1. That Western Skyline
2. Love Is All I Am
3. When You Call My Name
4. Give Me Time
5. When My Time Comes
6. God Rest My Soul
7. Bedside Manner
8. My Girl to Me
9. Take Me Out of the City
10. If You Let Me Be Your Anchor
11. Peace in the Valley
North Hills 7” B-Sides
Side A: All My Failures
Side B: Wilderness
