Acclaimed Los Angeles-based rockers Dawes have released their long-awaitedeighth studio album, “Misadventures of Doomscroller”, available everywhere now via Rounder Records. Rock stars don’t often name-drop such authors as Thomas Pynchon, David Foster Wallace and William Gaddis when they talk about their rock-and-roll influences, but Dawes lead singer and guitarist Taylor Goldsmith specifically credits those three scribes for helping shape his music-writing perspective while the band put together its latest album, “Misadventures of Doomscroller”
Dawes celebrated “Misadventures of Doomscroller” with a historic and record-breaking performance of “Someone Else’s Café/Doomscroller Tries to Relax” on CBS Saturday Morning—at 10 minutes and five seconds, the longest live performance of a single song in US TV history.
Produced by longtime collaborator Jonathan Wilson (Billy Strings, Father John Misty, Angel Olsen), “Misadventures of Doomscroller” represents an adventurous new turn for Dawes, evincing a more ambitious, exploratory approach towards recording than ever before.
The album includes recently released singles like “Ghost In The Machine,” “Everything Is Permanent,” “Comes In Waves,” and the epic opening track, “Someone Else’s Café / Doomscroller Tries to Relax.”
Official performance videos—directed by Caitlin Gerard at Hollywood, CA’s historic EastWest Studio—are streaming now via YouTube. The live performance of the entire album filmed at EastWest which was available exclusively for the first weekend when the album was initially announced is back online and streaming now.
With “Misadventures of Doomscroller”, Goldsmith allowed himself to be a little “uncomfortable” and let loose on guitar more so than he usually does. Bandmates Griffin Goldsmith (drums), Wylie Gelber (bass) and Lee Pardini (keyboards) followed suit. The result is an easy-listening, funky, smooth-rock record that includes moments of extended jamming and showcases the quartet’s musicianship more so than previous Dawes albums.
Dawes will further celebrate “Misadventures of Doomscroller” with a non-stop live schedule including headlining shows, festival performances, a summer run with The Head and The Heart, and a very special co-headlining tour with GRAMMY Award-nominated Canadian artist Bahamas.
“An Evening with Dawes and Bahamas” will see both acts performing together for two unique live sets, with Dawes backing Bahamas and Bahamas then joining Dawes for an unprecedented collaborative performance. The tour begins September 7 at Knoxville, TN’s Bijou Theatre and then travels the US through the month. “It’s a thrill for us because it keeps us familiar with the whole body of work, and I think that’s actually a pretty rare gift that musicians have,” Goldsmith says. “It’s not like novelists and filmmakers get to go play with the stuff that they made through the years, but musicians do get to do that.”
Other highlights include a very special solo performance by Dawes frontman Taylor Goldsmith at the Newport Folk Festival in Newport, as well as a once-in-a-lifetime “Tom Petty Dreamset” at Indianapolis, IN’s All In Music & Arts Festival, led by Dawes and featuring a surprise line-up of special guests.
The Fat Angel Sings 