Somehow I missed that there was a new Dawes album. I heard the lead single but didn’t realize the album (Passwords) was out already. “Crack the Case”, the first released single, is full of all the things I love about this band – engaging and emotionally complex lyrics, a late 70’s meets mid-2000’s (what do we call this time?) sound that teeters between alt-country, folk, indie rock, and a throwback singer-songwriter vibe that attracted me to their music when I first discovered them. This is a band that really needs to be seen live. No matter how much I enjoy their albums, and songs, seeing them live has always blown me away.

Los Angeles lives in “Crack the Case”, as it does in so many of Dawes’ song. It resides within the sung stories in the way that I’ve always looked at the city. That whole love/hate thing that has made me leave, and lured me back, time and again. I’m not always sure what keeps me here. I’m not always sure what’s made me walk away. Both realities exist within me, as they do in this song. Or, at least that’s how I interpret it.

“Crack the Case” by Dawes
from the album, Passwords (2018)
Song of the Day

“It’s really hard to hate anyone,
when you know what they’ve lived through.
Not once they’ve given you a taste.
She said,
‘This is for you to overcome,
but I will always love you’,
in her perfect state of grace.
Maybe that would crack the case.”

Today feels tough so I’m relying heavily on music to pull me through. I’m really not a fan of this week at all.