Chicago – The English rockers of The Dunwells have been making music since 2009, but it was the band’s debut 2012 album Blind Sighted Faith, that first brought them to the attention to many within the music world. Blind Sighted Faith mixed acoustic and electric for a modern Americana feel and was recorded in 2011, partially at Willie Nelson’s Pedernales Studio in Austin, Texas and at Analogue Studios in West Yorkshire, England. Brothers Joseph (vocals, acoustic guitar) and David Dunwell (vocals, piano, guitars, banjo), along with Rob Clayton (bass) and Adam Taylor (drums) make up this band from Leeds, which has been compared to Mumford & Sons, Fleet Foxes, and Band of Horses.
After spending a solid chuck of time on the road in support of Blind Sighted Faith, the four have returned with album number two, Light Up the Sky, which was produced by Steve Harris (Kodaline), Dan McDougall (Aurora), and Manny Marroquin (Haim, Sia, Taylor Swift). Musically, the band’s sophomore album is a departure from the folk and Americana The Dunwells became known for. While there are still touches of the band’s earlier sound to be found within Light Up the Sky, the guys have embraced more of a pop sensibility, rooted in indie rock.
Best New Bands spoke with Joe Dunwell – on his birthday – about the band finding its new sound, the making of Light Up the Sky, and golfing with his dad.
Happy Birthday!
Thank you very much!
I can’t but help hear influences of Bruce Springsteen in some of your music. I also hear a little Willie Nelson. Did you listen to either two growing up? And did you spend much time listening to Americana and rock from the U.S. when you were younger?
I’d say that the Bruce Springsteen influence is a big one. Me and David are big fans. On the Light Up the Sky album, that actual song, the way that we produced that song was around the idea of “Racing in the Street”… We’re big fans of Americana music, in general… Willie Nelson not so much, but it was a big factor that we recorded the first album at Willie Nelson’s studio.
I read about that. That’s amazing! This time around though, the recording was a bit different, and even your sound has changed somewhat. There’s definitely still folk and Americana influences in your music, but there’s more of a pop and rock sensibility to your new album, making it sound more similar to say Bon Iver. How did that come to be?
Yeah, there’s an indie feel to it. That was one hundred percent intentional. We spent three years touring the first album, and when we first got signed and put in the studio, we were such a young band, that we kind of like got thrown into a studio, recorded the album, and got put on the road. It was an amazing whirlwind experience, but in that three year period of time, we then found our sound, how we wanted to sound, and found how we wanted to put our best foot forward. That’s what this album is about. I feel like we needed to create the first album to do this album, but I feel like this [album] is now a starting point for us.
It’s been quite a few years since you released the first album until now, so it’s a big deal to finally release Light Up the Sky. But it’s also a big deal because you collaborated with so many well-known people within the music industry on this album; all of whom are brilliant. I read on your first album you worked with two producers, but this time around you had three producers. And you had songwriters, too. Did it take a lot of time to adjust to this change or did you fall right into it?
I think we feel right into it because we would get excited and be open to suggestions. Working with Steve Harris – we recorded twelve songs with Steven Harris – he was the first producer that we worked with, and he really opened our minds to the possibilities of what you can do on the computer, digitally. Technology is amazing! Once we presented it to the record company, they were like, “That’s amazing, but we want a few more tracks.” We ended up doing, I think it was two months of writing sessions with eighteen different writers, and six of them made the record. So we still got a backlog of songs that we’ll get to at some point… these people are writers for a reason, and we went in there knowing we can learn something and then we can take that craft into our writing, and maybe people will wan tot come write with us, for their own material… It was good for us.
That makes sense; it’s similar to studying at a college or university or what have you. I read a quote which said Light Up the Sky is “an album full of heart felt lyrics and powerful melodies, it’s an album of hope, struggles with everyday life, sadness, happiness, honesty, the desire for more. It’s about being a human being with the same emotions as everyone else.” Have you found since its release that fans have responded rather personally because of this?
Yeah, definitely! People send us personal messages… a song sometimes changes a person’s perspective of life. I’ll hear a song, and it changes my mood and makes me happy. I think that power of music is amazing, and it’s amazing that our music is doing that for people. People are sending us messages like “I was in such a bad mood today, and then I heard your song and it changed my mood.” If that’s all we’ve done today, for one person, than our job’s done!
That’s amazing! That’s the best birthday present right there.
Yeah, absolutely!
The name of your new album is taken from a song title of the same name: “Light Up the Sky.” What inspired this song? And what was it about this song that gave it the honor of album title?
The album is called Light Up the Sky because the first line in the song says, “I could watch this unfold and turn into something new,” and that was the stamp of the road up till now. It was like, we’re done. Here we are. We’ve done an amazing thing with album number one and had an amazing time, but this is the new album and we’re going to light up the sky. As cheesy as that is, we’re turning it into something new and we’re going to make it as big as we can.
Not cheesy at all! I was listening to your latest single “Hurts.” I was trying to break down the lyrics and thought for sure this song was inspired by a loved one struggling with addiction, but then I read it’s actually about a friend of yours “whose big break lies just around a corner he never quite reaches.” This was quite the shock to me. Tell me about writing this song! Is your friend still reaching out for their big break?
Well, you know everyday is a struggle sometimes with him. He’s the loveliest person – that’s the thing, when we wrote this song with Dan McDougall, we just got onto a conversation – I think I was telling [Dan] about how his girlfriend had just dumped him for no apparent reason – and then we got to talking and Dan was like, “You should write a song about this guy.” A girl will have a drink with him every now then, so he’s happy enough. [laughs] He’ll get his big break, and he’ll find his true love.
Does he know you wrote this song about him?
He does now, but not originally.
I also want to ask about “Hey Now.” The lyrics had me thinking this song was about the struggles you face balancing a relationship while trying to “make it” in the music industry. Is this the case?
Yeah, that’s the case. You nailed it… The idea of being on the road is so luxurious in people’s eyes, but it’s a lot of time wasted. You spend a lot of time in the van thinking about it… I feel really selfish, but it’s something that I have to do for myself.
I read you’re all avid golfers. Do you guys ever find time to golf while on tour, perhaps on days off?
I did once, in California… this morning I played for my birthday, with my dad, which was really good because I got to catch up with him.
Joe and the rest of The Dunwells are now on tour. A list of tour dates can be found on the band’s Facebook page. Light Up the Sky has been released in the U.K. and is available for purchase on iTunes.
Photo Credit: Lloyd Pursall
Sarah Hess
After attending The School of the Art Institute in Chicago, Sarah went on to study education at Dominican University, earning a degree in history. When not teaching, writing, or taking in a show, she is most likely to be found with a camera to her eye or hanging out in a darkroom.
You can follow Sarah Hess on twitter at @Sarahhasanh and view her music photography on her website: smhimaging.com.
Latest posts by Sarah Hess (see all)
- The Wild Feathers Check One Off The Bucket List - July 31, 2017
- RY X Captivates Chicago - October 24, 2016
- Four New Bands at Day Three of Riot Fest - September 20, 2016
