Vibrant, Rootsy, and Vivid, Damn Tall Buildings
Independently Release Their 3rd Album Sleeping Dogs Sept 9
Presave/ Preorder Sleeping Dogs
Under the Radar Premieres Damn Tall Buildings’ “Podcast”
“Brooklyn indie folk trio Damn Tall Buildings have been making their way through the Americana world… In their early days, the band busked together, and today their style captures that same ragtag charm and breezy joy, blending unassuming presentation with narrative observations on the mundanities of daily life.
With ‘Podcast’ the band leans further into their sun-lit harmonies, rugged instrumentation, and lively performances… they deliver some deliciously biting lyrics, taking shots at the entertainment industry’s complacency as the world rushes to its end.” —Under the Radar, Caleb Campbell
“Podcast” Available Now
https://damntallbuildings.hearnow.com/podcast
What others have said about Damn Tall Buildings:
“Virtually unmatched energy and enthusiasm, underpinned by intelligent songs that don’t skimp on the infectiousness… The musicianship is smart and skilled, but still playful and groove savvy” —Saving Country Music
“The Carter Family for the millennial generation” —The Boston Globe
“Damn Tall Buildings is a damn fine trio, mixing bluegrass, swing, and foot-stomping old-time music you wouldn’t think possible from a band from Brooklyn” —No Depression, Chris Griffy
“The natural groove made by a string band seriously happy with the music they are making speaks louder than words” —The Alternate Root
BROOKLYN, NY — Acoustic Americana trio fed on bluegrass, roots rock, old time, and vintage swing, Damn Tall Buildings are excited to release their 3rd album, Sleeping Dogs, on September 9. Whether sharing lead vocals and instrumental solos or blending their voices into loose, joyous harmony, the three members of Damn Tall Buildings—multi-instrumentalist and primary lyricist Max Capistran (guitar and banjo), bassist Sasha Dubyk, and fiddler Avery Ballotta—delight in entertaining. For a handful of tracks on the album, they brought in special guests on trumpet, drums, flutes, lap steel, and keys to add to their dynamic sound.
Witty and engaging, Damn Tall Buildings’ energizing music finds beauty and glory in the mundane workaday struggle of everyday life: time keeps passing and the seasons come and go, you scroll too much, you smoke too much, you lose yourself, only to sit with yourself and find yourself again, you laugh with your friends, and you look out the window and dream about what else might be out there. It all keeps coming around. You carry on, intent on flourishing and thriving. This is what Damn Tall Buildings sings about, what they seek to share with their audience.
Sleeping Dogs is a bop about looking things smack-dab-right-in-the-face and is essentially about how it has become almost impossible to not be constantly influenced by current events, media, and all of the other things that surround you in your day-to-day life. “Snow Crash” by Neal Sephenson—a bizarre, mind-altering romp through the infocalypse— is high on the band’s reading list. Damn Tall Buildings says, “The impact that things outside ourselves have on us, specifically, the rise of social media and all that comes with it, leads to an exponential increase of people’s awareness of other people’s lives, and how that affects them and how they feel about their life.”
The album’s 2nd single, “Podcast” is out now and was premiered by Under the Radar who writes, “With ‘Podcast’ the band leans further into their sun-lit harmonies, rugged instrumentation, and lively performances… they deliver some deliciously biting lyrics, taking shots at the entertainment industry’s complacency as the world rushes to its end: ‘Sleeping on the ground/Thinking you’re so profound/Your podcast sucks and I think I hate you…Your bio says your an artist/Filtering all your garbage/Do you know what you’re even saying?’”
“Sometimes you just gotta get the lead out,” Ballotta says to Under the Radar. “This upcoming album is all about facing our skeletons head-on (er skull-on?), and ‘Podcast’ is a real tongue-in-cheek commentary on the use of honesty–in the entertainment realm especially. Also, this one is definitely about the end of the world. A nice funk to it. Some sticky icky guitar picking. A little fiddle chuck. Bass thump. Oh it’s all going south for sure, but we are groovin’ to it. When it’s all said and done, life is worth living while we’re here – don’t you think?”
The album opens with, “What A Nice Life,” which has some extra pep to balance out the darker “I-don’t-know-who-I-am-anymore” lyrics: “And it’s been feeling mighty lonesome now that winter’s coming on… Not sure who I’ve been lately… But holy sh*t can barely stand me.” This is followed by an old timey, swingin’ “Dark Window Panes,” in which they ponder a pending apocalypse, accompanied by longtime friend and maestro of sound Garrett Eaton [Dana Williams, Gracie and Rachel] on trumpet.
The velvety and rejuvenating “Cold Rain,” the album’s 1st single, was premiered by AmericanaUK who calls it, “music that is determinedly of Now.” For the song, they are joined by mandolin wizard Dylan McCarthy (a longtime DTB collaborator and 2019 Rockygrass Mandolin Champion) and rock-steady drummer Micah Cowher [STOMP in NYC]. Micah also lays down the beat on the catchy “Sweet Girl,” with its chorus, “I am not myself, I am everyone else,” which became what the band calls, “the motto for the record; It’s basically our new anthem.”
A cheery sentiment echoes in the deep groove & colorful melodies of “Lemons” (with the virtuosic flute playing of Anh Phung [Twisted Pine]), and this fresh energy can also be felt as the sunshine slips in on “Patio.” The mid-tempo shuffle “Painter” (with Lars Thorson [Kane Brown on lap steel) illustrates a re-emergence into the world. They slow things down a bit in an ode to waiting, “Quietly Heartbreaking,” & the gentle “My Baby.”
The album closes out with the title track, “Sleeping Dogs,” flipping the script on the old proverb—“Don’t you let them sleeping dogs lie.” The song emphasizes the theme of the album: don’t ignore life, get out there and live it, take pleasure and meaning from the little things that keep us all connected and growing.
Self produced and recorded, the album was mixed & mastered by Dan Cardinal [Darlingside, Lula Wiles, Josh Ritter] at Dimension Sound Studios. Dan also played keyboard on the title track, adding to the texture of the song.
The trio is individually from all over the United States (New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Montana), but were born as a band while attending Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA in 2013. They started as buskers on Newbury Street in Boston, started touring nationally, and then moved the band to Brooklyn in 2017. Max says, “Brooklyn has an endless influence on our music. Yemeni music on iPhone speakers at the deli. Reggaeton from the street side auto shop across the street rattling our window panes. West African guitar rhythms on the walk to the train. It’s insane. We love it.”
Damn Tall Buildings have made notable appearances at MerleFest, John Hartford Memorial Festival, Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival, Philadelphia Folk Festival, Ossipee Valley Music Festival, Bear Creek Folk Festival, BlissFest, and Freshgrass Festival (where they took second place in the 2016 band competition).
Since their busking days, they’ve made two albums—Cure-All (2014) and Don’t Look Down (2019)—and released a self-titled EP in 2015. The band’s music has been praised by publications such as Bluegrass Today, PopMatters, The Boot, Saving Country Music, The Boston Globe, The Alternate Root, Folk Radio UK and more.
Damn Tall Building says, “Our innate desire is to connect with people on a level that’s beyond day-to-day interaction. Our hope is that the joy that making this music brings us will somehow get passed along to the people listening, which they can then take with them to pass along to someone else. It’s a shared celebration of positive energy, and that’s what keeps us cooking.”
Website: www.damntallbuildings.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/DamnTallBuildings
Twitter: @DamnTallTweets
Instagram: www.instagram.com/gramtallbuildings/
YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/damntallbuildings
Damn Tall Buildings on Tour
9/2 Fri – Towne Crier Cafe – Beacon, NY
9/3 Sat – Rettich Preserve @ Madison Land Trust – Madison, CT
9/6 Tue – WDVX Blue Plate Special – Knoxville, TN
9/6 Tue – Dee’s Country Cocktail Lounge – Madison, TN
9/9 Fri – Coppell Arts Center – Coppell, TX
9/10 Sat – Cactus Cafe – Austin, TX
9/15-17 Thu-Sat – Walnut Valley Music Festival – Winfield, KS
9/27-29 Tue-Thu – IBMA Bluegrass Ramble – Raleigh, NC
9/30 Fri – Bourgie Nights – Wilmington, NC
10/1 Sat – IBMA Wide Open Bluegrass Festival – Martin St. Stage – Raleigh, NC
10/13 Thu – Parlor Room – Northampton, MA
10/15 Sat – Glastonbury Apple Harvest & Music Festival – Glastonbury, CT
10/16 Sun – 118 North – Wayne, PA
10/20 – Rockwood Music Hall – New York, NY
11/10 Thu – Prius Hall-Ball State University – Muncie, IN
11/11 Fri – Thrasher Opera House – Green Lake, WI
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