Dave Matthews Band fans refer to the band’s first three studio albums as the Big Three. Under the Table and Dreaming and Crash introduced the masses to the unique sax- and violin-driven jams that were already favorites of early-’90s college students, bringing the band enormous success. And Before These Crowded Streets was a dark masterpiece, with complex arrangements and haunting lyrics that put the band members’ talents on full display.
Steve Lillywhite, who produced the Big Three but split with DMB in 2000, returned this year to produce the band’s new album, Away From the World. In February, he raised fans’ already-high expectations with this tweet: “Big 4 …. FOR SURE !!!”
But there will be no Big Four. Away From the World is nothing like DMB’s first three albums. It shouldn’t be, and it doesn’t try to be.
Away From the World captures a more mature, reflective and nuanced band that finally seems comfortable in its post-Big Three skin. During DMB’s failed 2000 sessions with Lillywhite, the record label notoriously asked, “Where’s the ‘Tripping Billies?’” There is no “Tripping Billies” on this album, and if you don’t like it, DMB doesn’t care.
What there is on Away From the World is heart, and lots of it. The album is not overly energetic, but it’s consistently uplifting and empowering, from opener “Broken Things” (“Oh, my love/My heart is set on you”) to the closing epic “Drunken Soldier” (“Someday we’ll say goodbye/So shine your light while you got one”). Whereas other producers minimized the sounds that make DMB unique, Lillywhite gives each band member time to shine, which contributes to the album’s resounding sense of joy.
Boyd Tinsley, more than any other band member, relishes this opportunity, returning to his ’90s glory with hoe-down fiddle work in “Belly Belly Nice” and a building, contemplative solo in the intro to “Drunken Soldier.” Rashawn Ross has a breakout performance as well, contributing not just on trumpet but also with backing vocals and even a few songwriting credits.
Away From the World isn’t the most accessible work in DMB’s catalog. The trio of slow-burners “Mercy,” “Gaucho” and “Sweet” early on can put listeners in quite the lull, and Dave Matthews’s two-minute acoustic love song, “Belly Full,” is too much of a comedown from the hard-hitting “The Riff.”
Regardless, Away From the World is DMB’s best album since 1998. Lillywhite has shown that he’s still the producer who can best capture the band’s sound in the studio. That sound is just different today than it was 14 years ago.
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