Dawes - Good Luck With Whatever

1xLP on Champagne Vinyl  Dawes lead singer/songwriter Taylor Goldsmith is in an anxious mood on the band's seventh album, 2020's lyrically incisive Good Luck with Whatever. On the wry, Bowie-esque title track, he paints a picture of suburban dread, singing "There's a man with a chainsaw/Standing out in my yard/He says he's just trimming trees/But he's clearly trying too hard." And what of that conspicuous Chevy Suburban with the government plates? While it's unclear if Goldsmith has done anything to warrant his fear, he's not taking any chances and plans his getaway as the car's engine idles ominously outside. Equally potent images arise throughout Good Luck with Whatever as Goldsmith writes candidly about growing older and finding ways to retain a sense of identity in an increasingly complicated and troubling world. This emotionally spent vibe is most present in lyrics where Goldsmith teeters towards poetry, somehow making inspired use of cumbersome words like "amnesty" and "pendulum.