Acclaimed California rock band Dawes have shared their new single, “Still Strangers Sometimes,” available everywhere now. Co-produced by brothers Taylor and Griffin Goldsmith alongside longtime friend Mike Viola, the track marks the latest single from Dawes’ upcoming ninth studio album, Oh Brother, arriving on Dead Ringers via Secretly Canadian Distribution on Friday, October 11.
“It’s a song about the spiritual investigation of long-term relationships,” says Taylor Goldsmith. “How a part of ourselves will be unknowable forever, despite our deep connections and intimate understandings of each other.”
Oh Brother marks a distinctive new chapter for Dawes co-founders Taylor and Griffin Goldsmith following 2022’s epic Misadventures of Doomscroller and the amicable departure of two bandmates last year. The album steers Dawes decidedly forward, honoring 15 years of Taylor and Griffin’s musical relationship, as well as the next era and natural evolution of their beloved band. That spirit informed much of the writing and recording, with each track initially recorded live with just Taylor on guitar and vocals and Griffin on drums, later incorporating additional studio instrumentation and collaborating with touring guitarist Trevor Menear. Across its nine heartfelt songs — which move seamlessly between folk rock, piano ballads, and sprawling jams while maintaining both an immediately recognizable sound and a freedom from expectations — Oh Brother sees Dawes navigating new chapters in their personal and professional lives while remaining steadfastly creative, ambitious, and inspired.
“It feels like we’re reborn in a way, and I mean that with so, so much love and gratitude to everyone we’ve ever played with before! This is what it means to be a lifer, to have iterations. It means having phases and chapters, and this is a very clear delineation as to the beginning of a new one. So Oh Brother feels like a ninth record, but it also feels like a first record.”
Are you vibing with this one?
