A 70’s-inspired release from Portland’s Dakota Theim, ahead of his new album ‘Tangled Heart‘.
Is that Doobie Brothers ‘Long Train…‘ congas? Or is that a ‘Wichita Linesman‘ style opening bass run? Shades of Moody Blues ‘Days of Future Passed…‘ in these mellotron-style strings? Is there something of ‘Massachusetts‘ era Barry Gibb in that falsetto vocal? Could very well be, since Dakota Theim confesses he is a big fan of his parents’ record collection.
Theim can also thank his parents for the piano lessons that he had as a seven-year-old child. He went on from there to teach himself guitar, having fallen under its spell playing ‘Guitar Hero’. And he didn’t stop there, going on to teach himself bass and drums. Must have been fun living in that house. His multi-instrumentalist chops helped him pull together the early demos of his new album, ahead of playing them to his bandmates, guitarist Ben Bilotti and bassist Alex Werner. Holding on to the DIY approach, the final album was recorded in Theim’s home studio, and at the Bilotti family home, mixed in Los Angeles by Daniel McNeill and mastered by Timothy Stollenwerk.
Theim might be raiding the 70s style book, but he has his own thing going on too. The track shares similar DNA to the likes of Fruit Bats, Andy Shauf, Whitney, et al, but ‘Never Give Up On Love‘ has its own vibe too – massively helped by his bandmates proving their musical worth across the track. Regarding the writing, Theim says, “This one was written super fast—I think I wrote it in like 20 minutes. It’s one of those rare moments where the song just comes right out of you and you don’t know how or where it came from. Straight from the soul, baby. It’s about the feeling of loving someone so much that you never want it to end, even though there are struggles in the relationship.”
The whole video is shot in that ‘golden hour’ early evening light, with a summery super-8 feel, and judging by the goofing around with barbecues and motorbikes, the band seem to all be having fun. However, in one of the shots, Bilotti and Werner look as wooden as the shed they’re standing next to… maybe they’re just hacked-off with the bare-footed Theim for hogging the comfy armchair.
Talking about the video, Theim says, “I wanted to keep it simple so we shot the whole thing in my backyard/outside my house. Ben’s brother Sam shot and edited the video, and it was his idea to put the chair from the album cover in the yard. The video is just us three playing the song and hangin’ around havin’ a great time on a mild summer afternoon.”
So, good work behind the camera, Sam Bilotti and, happily, all seems well with the band. He does hog that comfy chair, though.
