Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
"New Jersey natives dawn marie and al james have a good thing going with their mass production music house of a band called the dambrots. So far, they've released three discs, all with the same art, all different colors on their quest to release eight discs, one for each color in the dambrots logo. On this, their third release "love, delusion…" they show off their art, a sort of acoustic simplicity that comes with built in harmonies and stripped down melodies. Haunting at times (lost in your face…) they can easily turn up the pace and arrange a pop sound (this time tomorrow, tracy wants to know).
The long and short of it… a great listen, nicely packaged and enjoyable." - Independents Only
"One of the most impressive acoustic CDs in recent years, the dambrots' debut CD 'especially not love' marks them as a band to watch. Bravely keeping the music stripped to the bare bones (most songs feature only acoustic guitar and vocals, with occasional organ and percussion), the band is confident to let the strength of the songwriting, and the stirring haunting vocals carry the songs. That confidence is justified. What makes the CD so remarkable is how diverse and full the duo is able to make the songs sound with such sparse arrangements."
- Muzine / CD World
Discography
"especially not love" (the magenta album) 2003
"how to fall in love in 20 minutes" (the red album) 2003
"love, delusion, and other things..." (the orange album) 2004
"this is someone else's love" (the yellow album) 2007
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
al james and dawn marie combined musical forces as the dambrots in 2000, and began crafting their own unique Acoustic Pop sound. They formed the independent label Bartleby Productions, and announced that they would release a total of eight albums, one for each color in their logo.
In mid 2002, the dambrots recorded their first album especially not love, with Producer Eric Rachel, whose credits include Pattie Smith Group, Saves the Day, Graham Parker, and The Misfits. They recorded twelve songs for especially not love, all written by al james. especially not love is a very pure acoustic album, consisting primarily of al's acoustic guitar and dawn’s vocals, with minimal overdubbing. especially not love (the magenta album) was released on March 1, 2003. Eric Rachel's crisp stark production had perfectly captured the intimacy of the dambrots' performance.
the dambrots second album how to fall in love in 20 minutes took them in a different musical direction. While holding true to their acoustic sensibilities, the dambrots created a fuller, poppier acoustic-based sound, incorporating a wide variety of instrumentation. Throughout the album, al james plays acoustic guitar, slide guitar, bass, Hammond organ, & concert bells, and dawn marie sings and plays tambourine, shakers, triangle, finger snaps, & guiro. how to fall in love in 20 minutes (the red album) was released December 1, 2003.
the dambrots recorded their third album, love, delusion, and other things... during the summer of 2004. Once again taking a different approach to acoustic music, al and dawn employed an even wider range of instrumentation this time. The most noticeable instrumental difference is that dawn plays drums on the album, while continuing to incorporate a wide range of interesting hand percussion instruments throughout the album. al james further expands his multi-instrumentalist role in the band, playing 6 and 12 string acoustic guitars, bass, grand piano, Wurlitzer electric piano, mandolin, ukulele, concert bells, and melody harp. As on previous albums, al and dawn play all instruments. love, delusion, and other things... ( the orange album) was released November 10, 2004.
After recording their first 3 albums at New Jersey's renowned Trax East Studio, al and dawn decided to take a new approach. They recorded their fourth CD this is someone else's love in the woods of Connecticut at Dirt Floor Studio. Working with engineer/producer Eric Lichter, the dambrots were captured very spontaneously. Stylistically, the yellow album takes off in many directions: folk rock, pop punk, and flapper. this is someone else's love is the first dambrots album where al james plays electric guitar. The sound and feel of this is someone else's love is also affected by the use of several vintage analog keyboards. There are, of course, all the hallmarks of the classic dambrots sound - dawn marie's wistful, and haunting vocals and interesting use of hand percussion, and al james' distinctive guitar stylings, instrumental versatility, and his obsession with the concert bells.
Fans wish for new dambrots music was fulfilled with the July 9, 2007 release of this is someone else's love. With the release of the yellow album, the dambrots have come halfway through their 8 color / 8 album musical journey.
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