★★★★★
Quite apart from its Black Friday release date, Dawes' Stripped Down at Grimey's comes at just the right time for both the band and its fans. It should remind both parties what brought them together in the first place, a bond that might well have become tenuous due to the anonymous nature of the group's last full-length LP Stories Don't End. The simplicity of these 'stripped down' arrangements precludes any loss or camouflage of their collective personality...
- www.glidemagazine.com
2013-12-16
★★★★★
Led by singer/songwriter/lead guitarist/all round creative force Taylor Goldsmith, Californian quartet Dawes have made no secret of their intention to break out of their comfort zone on their third album. When we caught up with Goldsmith recently, he explained why they thought recording the album across the country in North Carolina, and his change of tack in songwriting from the broad to the detailed, would bring a different feel to their sound...
- music.thedigitalfix.com
2013-08-15
★★★★★
Dawes' Taylor Goldsmith is one of those songwriters who are almost preternaturally self-aware about the pitfalls in life and the self-delusions and innate flaws that lead one there, yet his characters keep falling into those traps. That's a good thing for his craft, because he'll never run out of fodder for his meticulously-crafted lyrics that way...
- www.americansongwriter.com
2013-04-25
★★★★★
Ever since 2009?s North Hills , Dawes has been lauded for their throwback Laurel Canyon sound. Most bands would be content with a small niche and marginal success given the onerous terrain of the music biz, but this Los Angeles-based quintet strives to convey a contemporary tone on their third studio LP, Stories Don't End . Though Dawes gravitates toward gushy guitar solos and lush three-part harmonies, they're hardly outdated...
- consequenceofsound.net
2013-04-15
★★★★★
Dawes have made a name for themselves the old fashioned way, the way you thought just did not happen in the music industry any more. After changing their name and approach from the more modern rock-minded Simon Dawes, the Los Angeles quartet released North Hills in 2009. Thereafter, North Hills received well-deserved word-of-mouth popularity, and the band matched it with constant touring, regular releases, and a down-to-earth, unpretentious approach to their music and their fans...
- www.popmatters.com
2013-04-15
★★★★★
A few years ago, when the sounds of Dawes' sophomore record Nothing is Wrong first reached my ears, it was like a blast from the past. Equal ingredients '70s Laurel Canyon folk-rock (Jackson Browne, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, etc.) and '90s roots/alt-country (Whiskeytown, Counting Crows, The Wallflowers), the music this L.A.-based quartet was cultivating hit almost every one of my sonic sweet spots...
- absolutepunk.net
2013-04-11
★★★★★
The release of Stories Don't End marks Dawes' third full-length album in four years. Frequently hailed as a vintage purveyors 70s folk-rock, the band has been rightly praised for their storytelling sensibility and raw musicality. With few frills and loads of patience the band continues to evolve their craft on Stories...
- www.glidemagazine.com
2013-04-11
★★★★★
It's little wonder that Bob Dylan has chosen this California quartet as openers for the current leg of his never-ending tour. There are few bands with as firm a command of lyrics as Dawes. On their third album, leader Taylor Goldsmith continues to sing stories -- in a wistful voice that seems to mash up Jackson Browne, Ray Davies, and Ryan Miller -- full of evocative imagery, insight, emotion, beauty, and humor; stories that make you lean forward to hear what's coming next as you bob your head...
- www.bostonglobe.com
2013-04-20
★★★★★
With Stories Don't End, their third studio album, Dawes aimed to break free from their pigeonholed place in popular music. They've been branded '70s rock throwbacks: chasing the open-highway Laurel Canyon churn of Jackson Browne, the expansive vocal harmonies of CSNY, the deep-pocket punch of The Band. And that's a sound that's served them well: In 2013, they're the torch-carriers of this old-fashioned sound--even if they don't want to be...
- www.pastemagazine.com
2013-04-11
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