Dawes Releases ‘Ghost In The Machine’ Single

Dawes dropped the new single, “Ghost In The Machine,” as well as live performance video. The cut is the fourth single from the Los Angeles-based group’s upcoming album, Misadventures Of Doomscroller, due for release on July 22 through Rounder Records.

Produced by Jonathan Wilson, the seven-track LP marks Dawes’ eighth studio album and follows 2020’s Good Luck With Whatever. The album is said to represent “an adventurous new turn” for the rockers featuring “a more ambitious, exploratory approach towards recording than ever before” as per press materials heralding Misadventures Of Doomscroller’s release. “Ghost In The Machine” arrives on the heels of previously issued singles “Someone Else’s Café / Doomscroller Tries to Relax,” “Comes In Waves” and “Everything Is Permanent.”

Taylor Goldsmith discussed the new single in a statement:

The words to this song are about the early days of a band. Playing small clubs and going on small tours. As hard as it is in the moment, it’s hard not to look back at those times through rose colored glasses. It’s all a lot more romantic now. And it’s also what built our foundational faith in what we do.

It’s the first time we’ve ever had a song with this kind of feel. We got Jonathan Wilson to play a second drum kit for the live take. Griffin and he switch off taking those drum breaks at the end. The solos were live on the floor and there’s no BGVs so other than extra percussion, a rhythm guitar, and an extra keyboard part, it’s all one live take…Feels like it’s gonna be a mainstay in the live show for a long time to come.

Watch Dawes’ “Ghost In The Machine” live performance video and stream the studio version below: