the desert, edward abbey, leonard cohen, magnolia electric co., neutral milk hotel, elliott smith, gillian welch and david rawlings, old blues-old jazz-old country, lorca, william carlos williams, the beatles, joseph campbell, ennio morricone, carlos montoya, wallace stevens, ac/dc, glade, will oldham, paul davis, will barclay, mark baysinger, the bolivian coffee bean, the plums.
Sounds Like
SLUG Review
Western Interior Seaway
David Williams = Bob Dylan + Jeff Mangum
It sometimes amazes me what can come from one man and his guitar. Beyond that, it makes me proud when that man lives in the great state of Utah. Portland Sessions (Western Interior Seaway) showcases Williams’ fragile voice remarkably well. All of it was recorded in Portland with Adam Selzer, who has recorded with such recent greats as The Decemberists and M. Ward. The increase in quality highlights subtle details that help elevate the feeling of this album, giving detail to backup vocals, double bass backdrops and even an electric guitar. The end product is a truly beautiful album that consistently emanates with sublime emotion. David Williams truly deserves more fame than he might even want.
–Ross Solomon
Cd Baby Editor's Pick
5 star review!
So, this is what happens when vultures and the desert wind of
Southern Utah pick away at the bones of Pop music! "Summer" is no romp
through green pastures or idyllic meadows. It’s a straight shot
through the Valley of the Shadow of Death. But DAMN, does that hot air
feel good! Though thoroughly lo-fi, Summer has the immediate intimacy
of Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska. Lonely songs with catchy melodies
are haunted by the presence of David Williams’ emotive, fragile
voice. It’s both hurried and hushed, whispering warnings from
somewhere out there in the bleak remoteness. Williams’ heartbreaking
vocals are displayed most beautifully on the sad-bastard folk tune
“Shame”. Architecturally, his songs are sturdy enough to hold up
Brill Building ornamentation, yet he shows brave restraint. Instead of
crowding the sonic space with horns, strings, and trickery, he opts to
strip the structure bare, leaving only guitar and voice. Occasionally,
fragmented drums and keyboards will sound in the distance, but the
music always remains skeletal, ghostly, and sparse. The vastness of
the desert has clearly taught Williams about the beauty of openness
and contrast. And when a song is good enough, the human voice can
sound as grand as an orchestra.
Chrisr at CD Baby
"an engaging splice between Dylan and Elliott Smith"
Salt Lake City Weekly
"One of my favorite CDs in my vast collection."
I have A LOT of CDs-- probably more than I can ever listen to again in my lifetime, so I have to pick and choose from them. This is one CD that I keep on the top of my piles of CDs so I can always get at it when I want to hear it again.
Jeff Kleinman CD Baby
David Williams, Summer = Will Oldham+ Richmond Fontaine
Initially released as a limited-edition, hand painted cardboard-box CD package, Summer is now available for mass consumption, courtesy of local label/booking company, BearTalk. Minimal and intimate, this release captures the essence of Southern Utah—an area where Mr. Williams often resides. "Echo" is a soundscape for the desolate while "Duluth" is the meatiest, musically and content-wise. Summer is yet another great effort from the thriving, local singer/songwriter scene.
happy to have shared stages with MAGNOLIA ELECTRIC COMPANY, THE BAND OF ANNUALS, LAURA GIBSON, BLITZEN TRAPPER, WYE OAK, DAVID DONDERO, JOSHUA JAMES, NORFOLK AND WESTERN, NICK JAINA, THE HORSEFEATHERS, ALEJANDRO ESCOVEDO, PSYCHIC TV, HEADLIGHTS, EVANGELICALS, EDITH FROST, RICHMOND FONTAINE, SOUTHERLY, JEFFREY RICHARDS (Vic Chesnutt, Neutral Milk Hotel, Hazeldine, Nels Andrews), WHITE DENIM, EX MODELS
Hear "Ask Your Money" on NPR's All Songs Considered Inspired Music episode fearturing
David Dondero, Beastie Boys and John Mellencamp
Hi there! We've got a new EP that we're especially proud of called Summer which is the second in our series of seasonal EPs this year. We'd love for you to listen to the EP online, and to do so, just click on the graphic below. If you like what you hear, we'd be very grateful if you'd support our efforts by buying the EP for €2.50 (around $3.20).
Hope all is going great for you. Thanks for being our friend!
David,
Thank you for accepting the friendship. I believe I saw one of your acts at Kilby Court with BOA, and I really enjoyed it. It is bands like yours that make me feel proud to live in Utah.
Regards,
Chris
I would like to inform you that after last night, I am now the proud owner of the G, D, E-, C back to G transition. G is no longer my demon. Just so you know.
