Dave Matthews Band – Walk Around the Moon

There’s something to be said for consistency in music....
Dave Matthews Band : Walk Around the Moon
7.7 RCA
2023 
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Dave Matthews Band : Walk Around the Moon

There’s something to be said for consistency in music. For being able to deliver album after album, long after you were the ‘hot new thing’ that everyone got sick of. For over three decades, the Dave Matthews Band has been a consistent force in music. Sure, maybe you were really into them when you were way younger, then decided they were lame when you were a little less young, and even forgot about them when you stopped buying CDs. Or they’ve been your favorite since back when, and are delighted that the road warriors still bring a big tour every summer. That continues even in the sci-fi-sounding year of 2023, including new record Walk Around the Sun, that has all the hallmarks of a great DMB release.

Said hallmarks range from the big jam celebration “After Everything” to the touching acoustic finish “Singing From the Windows” (because of course a Dave Matthews record has an acoustic song). There’s the reaching-out-of-darkness “Madman’s Eyes”, and the expansion with hope “It Could Happen”. But there’s also the nicely slyer side of Matthews in “Break Free”, contrasted by the rocker preceding, “The Only Thing”. And yes, there are the sweet and restrained pieces, such as “The Ocean and The Butterfly” & “Something To Tell My Baby”.

If you ever into Dave Matthews Band, Walk Around the Sun does immediately remind you of when you were – and that’s an accomplishment for such a long-standing group (particularly as it’s the first record ever without violinist Boyd Tinsley). Just be happy, and impressed, that they’re still here and still going.

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