If you knew anything about me, you’d know that I hate the vast majority of 21st century music, but the Dave Matthews Band has impressed me with their past few albums. This time, their new album (which debuted at number one), “Away From the World,” has a chance of doing just the same.
By listening to the entire album without stopping, I felt like I was in a concert hall while Dave Matthews was performing on stage. It has enough songs that are fast and upbeat, but just enough chill acoustic songs as well.
The first track, “Broken Things,” opens with a cymbal hit and quickly transitions into a duo guitar intro giving the listener something that is a little bit of an unknown area for the band. Once the vocals begin, it goes back into the chill Dave Matthews Band sound.
The second track on the album keeps the momentum going by keeping the BPMs rolling quickly with the jazzy “Belly, Belly Nice.”
During any good concert, it’s always a good idea for the band to slow down pace of the songs by the second or third song. In this case, DMB did that on the third track, “Mercy.”
If it were a concert, the fourth song, “Gaucho” builds up the momentum for the rest of the album. Although the outro slows down and flows directly into the next track, “Sweet,” it still is building the momentum.
“Sweet,” is a slower acoustic track, played on a ukulele. This song is only with Dave Matthews and the ukulele until about three minutes in.
The seventh track is “B.” When listening to this, you would think it’s just another acoustic song, but it builds throughout the song surprising the listener during the chorus with a harder-edged rock n’ roll style. You will also be able to figure out what the riff is during that part of the song. At a concert, this would be a good closing song for the first set.
The intermission, as I’d like to call it, is the one-minute and forty-four-second “Belly Full.” It’s an acoustic track with only Matthews’ vocals and guitar. I call it an intermission because the previous track is very upbeat. This song doesn’t kill any momentum for a big finish, but actually keeps the momentum flowing. It is chill enough that it could be considered an easy listening song, but it won’t make you turn off this album.
“If Only,” pulls you back into the album after the previous track. I can see this as the opener for the second set at a concert. It’s once again another chill song, but it keeps the momentum flowing. It isn’t too grand of a song that it seems out of place, so it fits just right.
The next song, “Rooftop,” is a little bit of a head banger during the chorus. It starts off with Matthews’s acoustic guitar, but builds into another hard edged rock tune. During the second verse, the beat pumps up the momentum even more. Even though it does have a harder edge, it stays true to the Dave Matthews Band sound, which is more focused towards a chill acoustic sound than rock n’ roll.
The second to last track on the album, “Snow Outside,” is fitting as well as all the other tracks so far. It is true that most artists put a slower song towards the end of a concert. This is exactly what this song felt like. It felt just right where it was.
The last song on the album, “Drunken Soldier,” seems a little weird from the start. It doesn’t hold true to the style of the previous songs. It has a more bluegrass influence than anything. Well, at least in the intro. Once the intro is over, the song goes back to the way it has been on the whole album. It starts off quietly, has a big hit with the full band, and then rocks out until the end. It also holds true to the Dave Matthews Band sound. The verses are more acoustic, but the rest of the song has more of a rock sound.
If you happen to get the deluxe version, like I did, (free on Spotify), you will get three bonus live tracks. “Gaucho,” “Mercy,” and “Sweet.” All of the songs were recorded on DMB’s most recent tour of America before the album was released. Each version of the songs stay true to the album version too. There are subtle differences because these tracks were recorded live, but overall, it stays true to the studio versions.
I definitely enjoyed this album. There’s a reason why it debuted at number one. It just fits everything that is The Dave Matthews Band. They really owned their own sound on this album and I think it’s one of their best yet. Every song on the album is something worth listening to. I don’t think there was one song I thought wasn’t good. Like I said in the beginning, each song flowed together like I was at a Dave Matthews Band concert.
If you only have time to listen to one or two songs of the 54 minutes of music, I suggest listening to “Mercy” or “Broken Things.” As I said before, I enjoyed every song, but these songs I enjoyed the most. These two songs are the staple songs of the album as well. When you have a chance, definitely listen to the whole album, it’s worth it.
