Credits:

Simon Dawes

Description:

Had ELO and the Kinks formed a supergroup in 2006, they might sound a little like Simon Dawes. The Los Angeles band of mates saunters back into the realm of ’70s pop/rock on its full-length debut, the Tony Berg-produced Carnivore. It’s a solid effort channeling their light, capricious nature and the swagger of their humble L.A. abode. They succeed in skirting by the new millennium post-punk revival with their own ballsy batch of indie rock songs, and they do it without sounding too pretentious like the Strokes or too collegiate like their labelmates the Walkmen. Each song sounds uniquely fresh, and achieving that alone in the thick of image-driven bands seems daunting in 2006; however, Simon Dawes seem to really mean it. Vocalist Taylor Goldsmith comes off so convincingly with his jaded sense of humor, yet Simon Dawes aim to get your rocks off, too. From blistering, hip-shaking standouts such as