CityBeat: Kings of the Hills

Dawes channel vintage L.A. folk but rise above their influences with their lovely debut album

When the Los Angeles band Dawes hit the road for their first headlining tour, they got accustomed to a certain response along the way, from truckers at diners to kids at shows. “Oh, you’re from L.A.? That’s too bad.”

“I think they associate L.A. with Beverly Hills and this rich and snotty community they see in all the tabloids,” explains 24-year-old frontman Taylor Goldsmith, who grew up in Malibu. “It’s definitely not the case. If you want to get to the good parts of L.A., you can find them, but people who have never been there just assume that it’s something you’d find on The Hills.”

Dawes, a foursome that includes Goldsmith’s younger brother Griffin, hails from a more bohemian Los Angeles, a place of sun-dappled canyons and cliffs perched above the cobalt sea, where artists and their muses have lived and loved for decades. For Goldsmith, there’s still something alluring about L.A., even if the Heidis and Spencers tend to hog the spotlight.

“Whenever I’m in Topanga Canyon, I definitely feel like it’s magical,” he says. “Even in Malibu. Even in Laurel Canyon. There are a lot of special, untapped places.”

-AnnaMarie Stephens

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Dawes will be stopping by the Loft next Wednesday, March 10th.