* En anglais uniquement
Freshly scrubbed alternative rockers from the upper-class Los Angeles beach suburb of Malibu,
Simon Dawes is an inoffensive blend of
the Shins' quirky, '60s-inspired melodicism and the radio-ready commercial sheen of
the Killers or
Maroon 5. Fronted by high school friends
Taylor Goldsmith (lead singer) and
Blake Mills (guitar), the lineup is rounded out by bassist Wylie Slam and drummer Stuart Johnson, a session musician who's played with
Matthew Sweet and
John Doe, among others. (A June 2006 cover story in a local Malibu glossy claims both that the odd band name comes from
Goldsmith's and
Mills' middle names, and, somewhat improbably, that
Goldsmith is the son of veteran R&B singer Lenny Goldsmith, best known for his '70s stint with
Tower of Power.) Discovered by veteran producer and A&R man
Tony Berg (
Michael Penn,
X),
Simon Dawes signed to The Record Collection, a pseudo-indie financed by Warner Brothers, in 2005 and released their debut EP, What No One Hears, in October of that year.
Carnivore,
Simon Dawes' first full-length album, followed in September 2006. North American shows with
Band of Horses also coincided its release that fall. ~ Stewart Mason