This is a guest post by Eddy Marshall
It has been almost four years since Damn Tall Buildings has unleashed new music upon our ears. Last Friday they released Late July and showed us how worthwhile our wait has been.
The song begins with a reminder of Max Capistran’s easygoing charisma. His guitar drives onwards under his lilting and honest voice. By the time the first chorus begins, the instrumentation has already reached the fever pitch of a traditional bluegrass piece, and yet it never gets lost in it’s own virtuosity.
Avery Ballotta eases between textural long tones and blazing fiddle runs that dance over Jordan Alleman’s banjo. The two are given the time to shine in a forty second bridge that crescendos into the song’s final chorus. Both members weave in and out of a solo and accompaniment role with the deftness of musicians who have been playing and riding in a van together for years.
Capistran keeps the song grounded with intimate, second person lyrics. He paints the picture of a lost romance, the memories of which are dwindling with time. Sasha Dubyk’s vocals and bass playing provide a helping hand or perhaps a counterpoint to the discussion. They are frank with each other, “I’m not sure just what you meant. Did you mean those words you said?” The chorus focuses on what they did to each other, “White lies, cutting ties,” and the pain that is still felt, “All that’s left, hole in my chest.”
Damn Tall Buildings will be playing on February 28th at 8PM at Union Hall in Brooklyn, NY. They are paired with their former Berklee classmates Honeysuckle.
Track credits:
Max Capistran – Guitar, Vocals
Sasha Dubyk – Upright Bass, Vocals
Avery Ballotta – Fiddle, Vocals
Jordan Alleman – Banjo, Vocals
Produced by Dan Cardinal
Recorded and Mixed by Dan Cardinal at Dimension Sound Studios, Boston MA
Mastered by Jeff Lipton at Peerless Mastering, Boston, MA
Assistant Mastering Engineer: Maria Rice
Album Artwork by McCormick Photos & Design
Written by Max Capistran
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