San Francisco songwriter Dylan Shearer has been kicking around the Bay Area since 2005, but something in his voice sounds like he just arrived here in a time machine from London in 1965. Like a less-buoyant Ray Davies (or a less-suicidal Nick Drake?) there’s an impressive authentic, cozily British gloom to the California-born singer’s work.
His new LP garragearray, out April 15 through a collaboration between Castle Face and Empty Cellar Records, expands on the immersive, melodic, rainy-day moods of his last couple efforts, 2012’s Porchpuddles and 2009’s critic favorite Planted/Plans.
New for this record are some rather heavy-hitting collaborators: On bass you have Petey Dammit from Thee Oh Sees (who, if you have no Facebook friends freaking out and posting about it every 10 minutes, seem to have officially ended their much-bemoaned hiatus with the announcement of a few shows in London and LA), and Comets on Fire‘s Noel von Harmonson on drums, with production by Eric Bauer (Mikal Cronin, Ty Segall, Sic Alps, a shit ton of others).
Here’s our favorite of the two advance tracks he’s put out — beautiful, sunshiney day outside be damned.
Check with Empty Cellar for show dates around the LP release.