Vocal harmony seems to be such a simple aspect of an album, but it is hard to find bands that can nail it during their live sets. Dawes, however, impressed everyone in the studio during their set at WERS with their flawless four-piece harmony that blended into their eloquent sound.
Dawes opened the set with “When My Time Comes,” which featured haunting drumbeats and nostalgic guitar melodies. The verses felt like the lead vocalist Taylor Goldsmith was quietly telling a story, while the chorus felt like a strong statement by all four members’ impeccable harmonic sound.
I asked Goldsmith who he would like to make music with (living or dead), and his answer may explain the band's heartfelt sound: “I would have to say Ray Charles. I’d like to get some pointers on my piano skills as well as on my vocals.”
Dawes is currently touring nation-wide with Delta Spirit, another California-based band. Traveling coast to coast in a van with eight other guys must conceivably be extremely strenuous at times. However, when I asked Goldsmith and bass player Wylie Gelber about the hardest part of touring with another band, they just looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders. “Delta Spirit is a good friend of ours,” Goldsmith said, “They are very nice guys as well… it just has been a good time.”
After a folky and uplifting piece, “Love Is All I Am,” Dawes ended their set with “That Western Skyline.” Swinging piano chords complimented Goldsmith’s vocals and created an incredible blues-tinged tune. The band identifies their sound as Americana/soul, and although Dawes might not typically fit into the latter category, such free-spirited sound indeed affects their audience in the same way that other soul artists have affected theirs. To their listeners, Dawes is liberating and inspiring, like Ray Charles was to Goldsmith.
Words by Lily Jeong
Edited by Ross Dallas
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