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Dezen's more recent side projects, The Rebecca West.
The actual catalyst for the reunion came
when Dezen was hanging out with his
friend, musician/producer Salim Nourallah, in his Dallas, TX studio last spring.
They were discussing some possible songs
Dezen had written for the next Damnwells
record. "I just got cold to the idea of doing
another 'Alex Dezen & Co. As The Damnwells' record," Dezen recalls. "I didn't feel
like doing it anymore in that way. I had
been in touch with Steve actually, because I
was going to be in Dallas and he was living
outside Dallas. And so Salim was like,
‘Maybe you guys should make another
record together!' And I texted Steve and
said, 'Hey man, I'm going to be in Dallas.
You wanna get together for a drink? I have
a cool idea.' And his response was, 'I'd love
to! I just got a llama off of Craigslist, so I just
need to settle the llama into the horse
pen…' of course. Of course Steve Terry has
a fucking llama!
"Anyway, we did have the conversation
eventually, and Steve was like, 'I think this
is a beautiful idea. I've been waiting for us
to get back to this spot where we could do
this again.' He was really excited about it,
which made me excited about it. Then we
called up Dave, and he was like, 'Um, sure?'
He was excited but I think Dave is always a
little more hesitant about jumping into
things. But as soon as Dave's wife, Kate, got
wind of it, she was calling me saying, 'this is
the greatest idea of all time. Please, God,
put Dave back in the studio!' So with the
help of our friends and loved ones, we were
able to make it happen. But the impetus for
it was Salim saying, 'Why don't you make a
record with those guys again?' So he was
the right guy to take the helm and get us
back in the studio."
Terry then met up with Dezen at
Nourallah's studio to do some pre-production work. "I was really nervous," Dezen admits, "because Steve was like, 'Well, I have
to break the drums out of the garage because I haven't played in a long time…' And
I was like, 'Oh fuck!' But of course he got
right back in the seat and started playing,
and it was magical. It was like not a day had
passed. I was like, 'O.K., this feels right.' Immediately it felt right. Steve and I have a relationship musically that I guess I didn't
really understand until we started playing
together again. There's a lot of play and
push and pull of the rhythm, and I think we
really work well together. I guess I had forgotten about that. So it was immediately
magical."
They put together some dates on the calendar in Nourallah's studio, then recorded
some tracks with Hudson. Then finally
Chernis came in, and they recorded the
whole record. "We had a great time," Dezen
says.
They tracked the songs for
about a month, but took their time remixing and going back and re-cutting vocals,
etc., totaling about seven months of work.
"Then we finally found John Kaplan, who
wound up mixing the vast majority of the
record," Dezen says. "He did a lot of work
on Air Stereo as well, so we felt like once we
got the old family back together, things
started clicking."
This reviewer and Dezen offer dual perspectives on each new song from the eponymous, self-titled new LP, The Damnwells:
"Money And Shiny Things": This is the
champagne bottle christening the vehicle
for the adventure ahead, steered onward by
Terry's ticks-tight snare pop and Chernis'
wailing guitar. Dezen: "It's a song about
people taking your money. And holding
onto your drugs."
"Kentexas": This song reminds me of a couple of my past favorite Damnwells songs,
beautiful melancholia with a hint of hope.
Dezen: "I wrote that one with my friend Jay
Blynn and that was a fun co-writing experience, and a lot of that sound came together
during the recording process. Jay is in this
band called Mosco Rosco."
"The Girl That's Not In Love With You":
This is a familiar story, no matter which side
you've been on. It's a rocking ditty showcasing Chernis' signature picking and
crescendo-ing bridge, buoyed by sweet harmonies courtesy of Dallas musician Paul
Averitt. Dezen: "I've had that experience,
other people have had that experience…
No matter what you do you just can't seem
to get her…"
"Lost": It's a serious introspective/pity
party with a killer sticky melody and
Chernis' killer lap steel. Dezen: "Someone
else put it eloquently so I'm quoting them –
'It's a post-breakup landscape of being lost
and not knowing what's up or down.'"
"Wreck You": This collaboration with Charlie Peacock is a grittier D-wells song that
rhythmically pummels you. Dezen: "[Charlie's] just a fucking saint. That guy's so cool.