Damon Mitchell has created some gorgeous music here.
Sweetly simple songs about heartbreak and love, a little twisted at times. But isn’t love always like that? They feel like something from the late 70s, early 80s, although Mitchell is pretty young. There are strong echoes of Dire Straits and Steely Dan and that’s how truly excellent the musicality of these tracks are.
It feels like California, very retro, a little campy, there’s even some horns and a bit of samba. Is he channeling Barry Manilow? Maybe if Barry had a kid with Hall and Oats and Steely Dan was their godfather…
But this works. It’s naive and authentic and beautifully produced, some of the musicians are phenomenal. Check out their credits! Damon Mitchell has some interesting connections himself, having just appeared as a guest guitarist on stage with America on “Horse With No Name,” which is impressive. You can certainly hear all those incredible musicians who seem to make it all look so easy, influencing him on the construction of the tracks and the arrangements.
It’s nice to hear music referenced like this. Maybe Mitchell was a baby or a twinkle in his mother’s eyes when all this music came out, and it must have made a big impression. I’m looking forward to more from him, I love his melodic, bluesy vibe and the honesty of his vocals. He’s a southpaw, six string guitarist, all blue eyed and golden haired…which is perfect isn’t it?
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Musicians:
Damon Mitchell; Vocals, Guitar, and Keyboards
Brian Arrowood (track 2); Fiddle
Audie Blaylock; Lead Guitar (track 2)
Nick Bowcott; Second Lead Guitar (track 6)
Nick D’ Virgillio; Drums (tracks 1, 2, and 3)
Jacob Dupre; Flugelhorn (track 5)
Sean Geyer; back vocals (track 1)
Tris Imboden; Drums (tracks 4, 5, and 6)
Kim Keyes; Backing Vocals (track 2)
Dave Martin; Bass Guitar and Percussion
Charlie McCoy; Harmonica (track 3)
Max Mitchell; Keyboards and Organ