Dawes 'Good Luck with Whatever' Review: Meticulously crafted album by folk rockers will tug at your heartstrings
Los Angeles-based folk rockers Dawes – which consists of brothers Taylor (guitars & vocals) and Griffin Goldsmith (drums), and Wylie Gelber (bass) and Lee Pardini (keyboards) – will drop their seventh studio album 'Good Luck with Whatever' on October 2, 2020. While their previous studio album, 2018's 'Passwords', investigated notions of communication, both with ourselves and with each other, 'Good Luck with Whatever' takes a different path while maintaining the gold standard of songwriting that fans have become accustomed to. On 'Good Luck with Whatever', a flourishing folk-rock record, Taylor pens down some of his best lyrics till date which thoroughly encapsulates the mood of today's society and 2020 in general.
The record opens will the groovy 'Still Feel Like A Kid' — an infectious, straightforward rock song that uniquely portrays millennial angst towards the innumerable piling responsibilities while still feeling like you never really grew up. Taylor sings about how things have gradually changed for him as years have gone by, but somewhere deep down, he's still just a child who doesn't want to grow up. Sadly, we realize there's no choice in the matter as we hear him sing, "I love dancing through a grocery store / Makes me still feel like a kid / I go three times 'round revolving doors / Makes me still feel like a kid / I love the music from the ice cream man / Makes me still feel like a kid / I am a singer in a rock 'n' roll band / 'Cause I still feel like a kid."
When the following track, 'Good Luck with Whatever' kicks in, the mood instantly switches to a feel-good, happy-go-lucky vibe. The unpolished, fuzzy electric guitar solo flawlessly compliments the folksy acoustic guitar, making you feel like you're driving along a highway with the top down on a lively summer's day with wind blowing through your hair. Every instrument on 'Good Luck with Whatever' – from the bass guitar to the keyboards – conjures a festive vibe; like you're leaving things behind and starting a new chapter.
The next track on the album, titled 'Between the Zero and the One' is Dawes' own piano-driven ballad of sorts. Taylor's voice here is a lot more melodious than usual as he delves into philosophical themes singing about being "caught between the zero and the one". This is followed by 'None of My Business', a son about exactly what the title conveys. The vocal performance here is top-notch despite 'None of My Business' being the most underwhelming track on 'Good Luck with Whatever'. Dawes' sound on the song, though, is reminiscent of their classic folk-rock roots.
Things pick up drastically on the fifth track, 'St. Augustine at Night'. An acoustic ballad describing the emotional turmoil in a generation of a Florida family from the perspective of one of the sons, 'St. Augustine at Night' wrestles with the complexities and weight of family dynamics, relational duty and personal identity. An intensely calming song, it's the perfect example of Taylor's faultless, poignant songwriting that makes you reflect upon the experiences and surroundings that have shaped you and made you exactly who you are. 'St. Augustine at Night' provides a rare glimpse at how artists tap into emotions and understand the rest of us by living through their own experiences. Possibly the best song he's ever written, the track, over four-and-a-half minutes in length, flies by effortlessly as Taylor sings, "The Lord must really love us common folk / 'Cause he made so goddamn much / Now if he'd just point the way to go / If he could just start speaking up."
The sixth track, 'Who Do You Think You’re Talking To?', flips the mood with its funky bass-line and lyrics about talking to a former lover you're still not over yet. It's followed by the stellar 'Didn't Fix Me'; a track through with Dawes shine light on mental health. 'Didn't Fix Me' captures the true emotions of feeling depressed. A song for anyone who tries everything in their power to feel better, to get fixed, but always in vain, 'Didn't Fix Me' ties with 'St. Augustine at Night' as Taylor's best songwriting till date. It also features the most haunting verse on the entire album which goes, "I finally got a nomination / For an award that I don't need / But I say that out of obligation / I really spent hours on my speech / I thanked my biggest inspirations / And the good folks back in Hollywood / But it didn't fix me / It didn't fix me like I thought it would."
For those who say to the depressed to just "snap out of it", 'Didn't Fix Me' paints the picture of a person going through the motions of an ideal life – success, love, recognition – but still feeling constantly adrift and perpetually lost. It's an extremely powerful anthem that must be heard by everyone who has ever been through a low point in their lives.
The final two tracks are 'Free as We Wanna Be' and 'Me Especially'. On 'Free as We Wanna Be', Taylor dreams out loud amid rousing guitars. Easily the catchiest song on the album, 'Free as We Wanna Be' deserves to be released as a single. 'Me Especially', on the other hand, is the longest track on the record that opens with a polished guitar riff and provides the perfect ending to a personal, all-encompassing record. A track oozing with nostalgia, it's about our yearning for the best days of our lives only to realize that those days are still right here.
Overall, 'Good Luck with Whatever' is a measured and meticulously crafted record that must be played on repeat throughout a lazy weekend by every single admirer of folk and indie rock.