We're All Gonna Die
by Dawes
Metascore
72

Generally favorable reviews - based on 7 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 7
  3. Negative: 0 out of 7
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  1. AllMusic
    Sep 20, 2016
    90
    With We're All Gonna Die, Dawes have crafted an album rife with riddles and musical poetry, whose meaning may take a few listens to completely grab you. However, when it does finally hit you, it's hard to shake the feeling that Dawes have opened a door into the cosmos.
  2. Uncut
    Sep 23, 2016
    80
    [Producer Blake Mills] deftly applied his gift for song-serving ornamentation and transformed sluggish Dawes into an aggressively inventive band. [Nov 2016, p.26]
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  3. Rolling Stone
    Sep 20, 2016
    70
    The band's breezy harmonies (aided by pals from Jim James to Alabama Shakes' Brittany Howard) on songs like "Picture of a Man" and "No Good Reason" are a perfect complement to his gentle malaise.
  5. American Songwriter
    Sep 20, 2016
    70
    Since their music so effortlessly recalls the best of Jackson Browne, consider We’re All Gonna Die to be Dawes’ version of Browne’s 80’s curve ball Lawyers In Love, a stylistic detour with high points that outweigh the misfires.
  6. Paste Magazine
    Sep 20, 2016
    70
    Frontman Taylor Goldsmith experiments with R&B-style falsetto on songs like the title track, and the plaintive piano songs of yore now lean more heavily on keyboard synths and textural effects.
  7. PopMatters
    Oct 4, 2016
    60
    For all their quality on paper in terms of instrumental skill and stylistic infusions, the tracks never really seem to get going. Dawes are faced with the facts that innovation is all well and good, but this doesn’t mean that the listener will buy into it.
  8. Magnet
    Nov 16, 2016
    50
    Too frequently, though, the new material doesn't have the constitution to withstand the heavy hand of producer and former Dawes guitarist Blake Mills. [No. 137, p.55]
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User Reviews

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User Score
5.7

Mixed or average reviews- based on 7 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 7
  3. Negative: 2 out of 7
  1. Trithre
    Nov 20, 2022
    10
    Truly excellent album
    Almost all perfect songs
    Dawes departs from their traditional sound, embracing a new, more rock-y, one.
  2. tommyt1984
    Jan 13, 2017
    4
    I love Dawes. To me, they represented a return to a style of songwriting and performance that has been missing from popular music for a longI love Dawes. To me, they represented a return to a style of songwriting and performance that has been missing from popular music for a long time. I wanted to love "We're All Gonna Die" but sadly it's just not possible. The music, lyrics and performance are so far off from what Dawes has done in previous albums and not in a good way, in my opinion. Experimentation can be a wonderful thing in the realm of creation but this instance seems forced. The band seems to be trying for something new and the results fall flat. The worst part about this is that this album forces me to question the motivations behind the work on Dawes' earlier albums. The lyrics and music on their first three albums in particular feel so real and meaningful. Then they go an put together an album like this that just seems silly. Totally not feeling this album. For the first time since I became a Dawes fan I have little or no desire to catch them live on tour until this material is retired. I hope they return to higher quality songwriting. Well, at the very least we have a few exceptoional albums from this once great band to revisit whenever we please. Please come back, Dawes!!… Full Review »
  3. ricknewsom
    Sep 26, 2016
    9
    Change is hard, and this is a big change for Dawes. Even though the band made a conscious effort to change their sound with each of theirChange is hard, and this is a big change for Dawes. Even though the band made a conscious effort to change their sound with each of their prior four albums, none of those changes were as dramatic as this. I must admit that the first time I heard When the Tequila Runs Out, I was disappointed. But if this is the direction they need to take to graduate from opening act, or headliners in small venues, then that's a reality of the music business today. With that in mind, I think it's important to evaluate this album on its own merits, and try to avoid comparing it to their previous four. Having now listened to the album several times, it's grown on me. Beneath the newly discovered distortion effects and other newfangled gadgets that will undoubtedly send fans of North Hills fleeing, the writing is still vintage Taylor Goldsmith. The songs are strong. The recording quality is good. Some of the production decisions are puzzling, such as distorting Taylor's voice so much on the opening song, One of Us. But overall, the new production concept works. I just hope they don't run off too much of their old fan base in their attempt to expand it.… Full Review »
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