Dagger Beach, the new album from San Francisco songwriter John Vanderslice, delivers the precise and carefully thought out sonics his eight other records have offered while moving with a deft lightness and fearless sense of exploration. “While it’s true I did endure a terrible break-up at the beginning of writing this record, this is not a break up record”, says Vanderslice, “Dagger Beach is a put-me-the-f*ck-back-together record”. Instead of sitting at home surrounded by reminders of his ex-partner, Vanderslice ventured into the deep Northern Californian wilderness. The songs were constructed during hikes on a healthy diet of countless repeat listens to Joanna Newsom’s Have One On Me, Silver Jews’ The Natural Bridge, and Radiohead’s King of Limbs. “I don’t think you’ll find traces of these records in Dagger Beach,” says Vanderslice, “but their spirit and fearlessness deeply affected me”. Lead single, “Raw Wood”, exemplifies that fearlessness with syncopated drums, fluttering piano chords and eerie back-up melodies that gently move the song into Grizzly Bear territory. “Song for Dana Lok” has a vocal timbre that harkens to the California, sun-stained pop of the 70s that San Francisco transplant Mikal Cronin founds his current songwriting on while “Interlude #1” is a brief and welcome departure into Brian Eno-like moog experimentation. A thunderous drum gives way to a landscape of sound on “How the West Was Won” as new sounds are introduced and fade away at every turn. This is Vanderslice at his most carefree & confident, “don’t it feel good, to be understood tonight” he sings, as he revels in the idea that being true to yourself and understood are not mutually exclusive. Rhodes piano and effects chime by him as if they were being swayed by a mountain breeze and arrangements blossom then quickly retreat, making for one of the most visual tracks on the album.
This album marks a departure from his releasing music through indie staples Barsuk and Dead Oceans. After eight albums, Vanderslice has chosen to go his own path and release it under the umbrella name of his recording studio, Tiny Telephone, which he opened as a haven for San Francisco musicians in 1997. Friends and local bands like Death Cab for Cutie, Deerhoof, The Magnetic Fields, Spoon, & Okkervil River have all recorded there. Dagger Beach was recorded at Tiny Telephone on 2” analog tape without the use of computers. The record has been streaming on Paste Magazine and was digitally serviced last week.
RIYL: David Bowie, Grizzly Bear, Sufjan Stevens, The Mountain Goats
Recommended Tracks: Track #1 “Raw Wood”, Track #3 “Song for Dana Lok”, Track #4 “How the West Was Won”, Track #11 “Sonogram”
FCC CAUTION: Track #7 “Damage Control”– says “a** hole”
Going for Adds 6/10 & 6/11
Label: Tiny Telephone
