Dawes: at Grimey's New & Preloved Music (Nashville, TN) Wed. March 20, 2013

Dawes

Pop/Rock

Nashville Scene Critic's Pick …

In the past five years, maybe more, I can count on two fingers the time a song I’ve never heard before stopped me cold on the radio and made me pull over. On one of those occasions, I even wrote down on a Steak ’n Shake bag snatches of lyrics to look up when I got home: “ … biscuits and the beans … suggested daily dosage … red moon when it’s full. …” Turns out the song is “A Little Bit of Everything,” from Dawes’ 2011 album Nothing Is Wrong, one of those meaning-of-life ballads that Music Row tunesmiths and earnest singer-songwriters so often attempt at their peril. Here, it’s redeemed by frontman/songwriter Taylor Goldsmith’s morose wit, offbeat detail and sheer generosity of spirit. (As for its breezy SoCal sound, I can only imagine DJs and record-store clerks getting fed up with requests for “that awesome new Jackson Browne song!”) Their new LP Stories Don’t End won’t be out until April 9, but you’ll likely get a taste at this sure-to-be-packed free late-afternoon show.

—JIM RIDLEY