Dark End Road

Lowlights | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 21, 2005)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Darla Records
• ASIN: B0007Y09JQ
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #447,808 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Recording information: Western Circuits Log Cabin, Manila, CA. Photographer: Glenn Scott Matthews. Arrangers: Dameon Lee; Dusty Reske. Lowlights: Ryan Cook (guitar); Brook Otis (pedal steel guitar); Jason Johnson (dobro, ... Full Descriptionbanjo, mandolin); Dusty Reske (piano, keyboards, sound effects); Danny McAlerney (bass guitar); Jamie Jackson (background vocals); Dameon Lee, Annie Ford, Christina Antipa, Freel Freine, Kris Sundeen, Molly Hawkinson. Personnel: Dameon Lee (vocals, acoustic guitar, acoustic 12-string guitar, electric guitar, lap steel guitar, harmonica, organ, sampler); Jami Jackson (vocals); Ryan Spencer Cook (guitar); Dusty LaVen (acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Luther "Snake Boy" Johnson (dobro, banjo, mandolin); Annie Ford (violin); Kris Sundeen (saxophone); Dusty Reske (piano, keyboards, computer); Molly Hawkinson (piano); Freel Freine (drums, percussion); Christina Antipa (background vocals).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars For fans of My Morning Jacket and others., November 25, 2005

By 

somethingexcellent (Lincoln, NE United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Dark End Road (Audio CD)

With his first album as Lowlights, Dameon Lee created someting that sounded like a lo-fi Spiritualized. With a mixture of traditional instrumentation and a small touch of electronics, the two halfs didn't quite mesh together, making for a somewhat inconsistent release. With Dark End Road, Lee is back and his aesthetic has changed ever so slightly, as well as his production techniques, the result of which is a much more assured album that flows much better than the debut and contains a much stronger batch of songwriting.

With an arsenal of almost twenty instruments (Lee along plays eight) and contributions from almost fifteen people, Dark End Road is also a much more full sounding release. Taking a swerve towards more country roots, the album also manages to take all those different sounds (including some electronic effects) and pull them together. The disc opens with radio static, subtle electronic glitches, some tone drones and banjo and acoustic guitar on "This One I Love Is Gone" before the album picks up on the more filled-out album-titled "Dark End Road." At just over six minutes, the track mixes everything from organs to strings to lap steel to strings into sections that range from desert-dry guitar reverb to almost orchestral pop.

Interestingly enough, it's when the album picks up that the tracks seem to lose some of their more interesting qualities and rumble forward pretty straightforwardly. Both "Emily" and "Drive Thru" pick up the pace and feel like they're going to be welcome changes on the album mostly haunted by ballads, but both tracks drop a majority of the instrumentation in favor of fairly plain guitar riffs and chord progressions.

Although the album does drag a bit in places becuase of the pace, Lee is much more at home amongst the slower tracks where he can really let his warm vocals lay down and mingle amongst the more varied instrumentation and let the lap steel croon along with him. The quiet "Snow Is Silver" and "The Curse" are both brokenhearted gems that tumble along with a hazy gaze and stand alongside softer work from onetime labelmates My Morning Jacket. A nice follow-up from a young artist creating some sunwashed music for excellent summer listening.

(from almost cool music reviews)

5.0 out of 5 stars Really great album, January 17, 2011

By 

rose333 - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dark End Road (Audio CD)

This album is fantastic! I don't know why this band is not more popular. There is a great mix of indie rock/country guitar throughout. You will like this album is you like Indie Rock, Folk music, and classic country. BEST Songs; Too Young To Tell, Emily, So Long.