I feel like I’d heard of Dawes awhile ago, but the first time they ever really got my attention was a couple of weeks ago when I heard the single, “When My Time Comes”, on NPR — David Dye’s World Cafe, to be exact.
Halfway through my first listen, I was already hooked and was using the Shazam app on my phone to find out the song’s artist and title.
As it turns out, the song has been around for a while, having been released on the band’s debut album, North Hills, in August 2009.
The album title is a reference to the area of Los Angeles where the band resides. The North Hills region is ground zero for the “Laurel Canyon sound” pioneered by such folk-rock icons as Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.
With the release of North Hills, Dawes officially picked up the torch from CSN&Y and channels the group on most of the songs on the album. Another strong influence is The Band, which can be heard on several tracks, especially the opener, “That Western Skyline”.
As it turns out, the album’s most popular song is also its lone outlier. While the other 10 tracks hearken back to the best of ’70s-era folk-rock, “When My Time Comes” has a much more modern indie-folk feel.
In fact, the song sounds almost like a mash-up of contemporaries Mumford & Sons and The Avett Brothers.
In my opinion, the video version of the song is actually better than the one on the album, which seems a little more restrained in comparison. I believe they may have re-recorded since and punched it up a bit.
Dawes is touring all across the country this spring, including dates with Deer Tick and Brett Dennen. Unfortunately, their schedule doesn’t quite jibe with mine.
But if you’re interested seeing them, check out their MySpace page or their blog.
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