This is the story of how to build a band from the ground up. The Dunwells, who are
about to release their second album Light up the Sky, are a quartet from Leeds whose
music is intimate yet epic, and whose songs are full of headphone moments that
prompt shivers, but also possess the kind of choruses that could be sung back by the
crowd at them in stadiums. The Dunwells have already made an impact in America
with their 2013 debut album Blind Sighted Faith—having hit singles and playing them
on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, appearing at Lollapalooza and Red Rocks—but now
their sights are set closer to home: to make an even bigger impact in the UK, and to
become a great British band.
“Hey now, it’s been a long time coming,” sings frontman Joe Dunwell on the single
“Hey Now.” “I’ve been ready for a while.”
In an era where success must seemingly come overnight—if it is to come at all,
The Dunwells offer contrary proof that real success is only delivered when you’ve
worked for it, when you’ve honed your craft and perfected it.
They have.
The band comprises four lifelong friends, two of whom are brothers: Joe Dunwell,
singer/guitarist Dave Dunwell, bassist Rob Clayton, and drummer Adam Taylor. Dave
and Rob have played in bands since childhood, while Joe, who met Adam at college,
was busy noting the fun his brother was having with a guitar, and was determined to
follow in his footsteps. By 13, he precociously proclaimed himself ready to start a
band.
“I remember it well,” says Dave, laughing. “I was 18 years old, and I’d just come
back from doing some travelling. I thought I was all grown up and mature, but there I
was wanting to join forces with my younger brother, and make music with him.”
For the next few years, this is precisely what they did. They performed locally,
and then nationally. It was at the Bedford Arms in London’s Balham where the
fledgling four‒piece were spotted by a local promoter who saw something in them,
something perhaps they hadn’t seen themselves. “He invited us to play at a festival in
Memphis,” says Dave. “It was called Folk Alliance.”
The Dunwells were not a folk act then, and they remain not one now, but they
did have a song that featured banjo—and this, seemingly, was all it took. “It was an
opportunity,” says Joe, “and so of course we grabbed it.”
To raise the funds necessary for the trip, they played a crowdfunding show in
their native Leeds alongside a good friend, Jamie Lawson, who recently had a
number‒one album. It sold out, and subsequently they made preparations to fly west.
Six thousand pounds later, they found themselves shacked up in Elvis’ hometown,
meeting the locals and playing to a very different kind of audience—an awful lot of
people wearing an awful lot of denim.
“To be entirely honest, I don’t think we felt like we really fitted in,” says Rob,
smiling, “but it was an amazing experience.”
And a valuable one, too: in the crowd was their future manager who, shortly
after they left the stage, offered them a deal. A few months later, they were back in the
US, recording their debut album at Willie Nelson’s studio in Austin, Texas. “It was a
crazy time, and very intense,” says Joe. “We had just three weeks to record the
entire album.”
The result was Blind Sighted Faith, an album of considerable promise and
potential. But, according to the band themselves, a potentially confusing one for
prospective fans.
“There were four of us, and three of us sang the songs,” says Dave. “We loved
what we were doing, and the album was a success—especially in America—but it
was like we hadn’t fully found out who we were yet, what our true sound was.”
For the time being, they simply fulfilled increasing demand, and toured the US.
The album’s lead single, “I Could Be a King,” reached number 28 on the Billboard
charts, and number 19 on the Triple‒A charts. They played festivals, and headlined
shows for up to 6,000 fans. Not bad for The Dunwells Mk I, but the band were
beginning to crave a creative leap.
And so, in 2013, they returned to the UK, and started to build The Dunwells
Mk II. They changed drummers, they ditched the banjo. And to all intents and
purposes, they got themselves a new singer.
“Joe has always had the stronger voice,” says his brother Dave, magnanimously.
“And it just made sense for one of us to sing, not three. We wanted a focal point, and
Joe was always the focal point.”
This might have damaged egos in other bands, but not here, insists Dave.
“There has never been an ego in this band, and we’ve always realised we are stronger
as a four‒piece than we are alone. It was actually Joe who was the most resistant,
initially because he didn’t want to upset me, but I think we all agreed that he was
better as the frontman. He looks the part, too.”
They brought in producer Steve Harris, who has worked with U2, Kaiser
Chiefs and Kodaline, as well as Dan McDougall (Aurora) who produced the single
“Hurts” and tracks “Animal” and “Will You Wait For Me,” while Manny Marroquin
(Haim, Sia