Stripped down to the duo of lead singer/guitarist
Taylor Goldsmith
and his brother, drummer
Griffin Goldsmith
,
Dawes
deliver a tightly performed, cleverly written ninth album, 2024's
Oh Brother
.
have endured lineup changes since the beginning of their career, amicably parting ways with founding member
Blake Mills
when they were just picking up steam. And although
Taylor
's songwriting was always the group's signature, it was unclear how the departure of longtime bassist
Wylie Gelber
and keyboardist
Lee Pardini
in 2023 would affect their rootsy band vibe. Interestingly, rather than bring in replacement musicians,
didn't rely on hired guns here, choosing instead to focus on just vocals, guitar, and drums, and to record the songs as a duo live in studio. While there is a spare, often demo-like rawness to the sound, it's a surprisingly robust and full-throated production. Primarily known as a singer and songwriter,
further reveals himself as an enthusiastic guitarist, his wiry, tube-amp sound evoking players like
Robbie Robertson
with a dash of
Jack White
. Similarly,
Griffin
displays his creativity as a drummer, making the most of a minimal snare and hi-hat groove on one song and then dragging his brushes over what sounds like a suitcase on another. This interplay is particularly evident on "Front Row Seat," a swaggering,
Led Zeppelin
-esque anthem about the troubled state of the world in which
finds dark ironic comfort in the idea of being present as society falls apart. As his guitar bends serpentine shadows around his brother's bashing tin, he sings, "If it's true that it's a curse to live in interesting times/Then why do I get butterflies as I peek over the ledge?" Equally sardonic and cheeky sentiments pop up elsewhere on cuts like "Mister Los Angeles," "King of the Never-Wills," and "Still Strangers Sometimes," as
conjures little vignettes about people at odds with their success, their romantic partners, and the pseudo-spiritually-minded, image-conscious society they've ascended to via a mix of luck and talent. Often, he displays his knack for picking out specific references to make his point, as in the
Jimmy Buffett
-esque "House Parties," where he bemoans his partner's more upscale taste, revealing that rather than visit museums or go shopping he's more about "House parties and local bands/Good weed with some Joni fans/Old friends playing Mega Man/And a little Donkey Kong." If there's one thing that's evident while listening to the refreshing, back-to-basics craftsmanship of
, it's that the Goldsmith brothers clearly know what they and
are all about. ~ Matt Collar