Dawes
Misadventures of Doomscroller

4.0
excellent

Review

by Sunnyvale STAFF
August 7th, 2022 | 34 replies

Release Date: 2022 | Tracklist

Review Summary: Let’s enjoy each other’s company, on the brink of our despair

California band Dawes’ career sits in a rather ambiguous place after more than a decade. They’ve toured with a host of prominent artists from folk, alt-country, and jam band circles, but never quite become a particularly big name among fans of any of these genres. They’ve accrued a reputation for impressive live showings, but while it’s clear even from their studio efforts that the band members have serious instrumental chops, a good chunk of the songs on every one of their albums have proven rather banal. In short, seven albums into their career (up to and including 2020’s LP Good Luck With Whatever), with a few exceptions, Dawes is the definition of what Sputnik users might call a “3.0 band”.

Dawes’ eighth album, Misadventures Of Doomscroller, however, does not feel like the work of a 3.0 band. In some respects it’s a striking departure from the group’s status quo, something noticeable from a cursory look at the track names and lengths. Multiple songs have titles with slashes in them, indicating prog-style suites, and six of the seven songs are over five minutes in duration (the only exception being a short instrumental). The album as a whole is relatively trim (in fact, the second-shortest in the band’s discography), due to the relatively low number of tunes, but the songs presented are, without exception, deliberately grand and elegant.

There’s still sonically a lot of overlap with Dawes’ previous works, the sound is just arranged with a different direction in mind. The light and mellow rock style one associates with artists like the Eagles and Jackson Browne (quite unfashionable these days) remains preeminent, with echoes of other distant artists like The Band, Dire Straits, and Steely Dan also making appearances. This decidedly retro spirit probably won’t surprise anyone who has heard a Dawes song before; after all, it’s their standard operating procedure. That produces an interesting dynamic on this release, though, as might be implied by the rather unexpected album title. To quote the ever-useful Urban Dictionary, “doomscrolling” is defined as “obsessively reading social media posts about how utterly fucked we are”. Thematically, the album does indeed delve into contemporary concerns, with the lyrics having a rather grim tint: an accusatory and bitter tone on the sprawling opener, the “get off my lawn” vibes of “Everything Is Permanent”, the meandering existentialism of “Joke In There Somewhere”. As such, it exists in an interesting dichotomy, exploring very real concerns of the present like technology and social division through the medium of warm and comforting classic rock.

That said, Misadventures Of Doomscroller works, to a remarkable degree. It’s immensely satisfying to see a band take a risk and have it pay off, especially when said band has obvious talent and has been stuck in a bit of a rut. The album is strong from start to finish, moving fluidly from breezy chillness to groovier segments to moments approaching jazz fusion, all the while providing the listener with enjoyable guitar solos, lovely harmonies, and compelling lyrical narratives. Beyond all that, it’s a rock-solid mood piece, summoning in its wake a nostalgic aura and the feeling of a summer wind. If this warm blanket description feels a bit off, given that the album’s last song closes with a rather disturbing acknowledgement of the inevitability of death, remember that back in ‘76 the Eagles closed out Hotel California, which leaves behind a similarly familial sensation, with this moody observation: “call someplace paradise, kiss it goodbye”. Things might feel bleak now, and Dawes doesn’t try to sugarcoat anything here, but these tunes are an absolute joy to listen to. Misadventures Of Doomscroller probably isn’t the AOTY 2022, but if your criteria is “best album to listen to while cruising the Pacific Coast Highway, wind in your hair”, well, it’s a shoo-in.

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