By Adam Schutz
When Dawes announced their new album, Stories Don’t End, to be released in April of 2013 I was excited to say the least. I was quite a bit late to the Dawes party, only having discovered North Hills a year before, but I was in deep nonetheless. While North Hills had provided the perfect summer soundtrack to my 2012, I was a bit disappointed with their follow-up, Nothing is Wrong. The raw, 70s vibe that I loved so much in that first album seemed to have been lost amongst more pop-stylized rock. Come 2013, I was in need of a new summer soundtrack and, although not quite North Hills, Stories Don’t End will be just that. The most recent album falls more in between the other two with the quaint southern rock we all fell in love with and a hint of pop that fits the band nicely. Although the album has no standout singles like North Hills’ “When My Time Comes” (or really any song off that album in my opinion), the tracks play smoothly into the next and I can’t wait for my first car ride, windows down, listening to the first song “Just Beneath the Surface.”
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bxwEscWZEI&h=297&w=450]Score: 3.5/5
Editor Chime-In: Dawes indeed have taken a poppy route this time around. Judging from their gritty, country-tinged performance opening for Mumford and Sons last summer, I expected more of the same. Only on the 2nd track, I can tell this record will be the soundtrack to many a listener this summer.
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