Pōneke’s Elliott Dawson releases his debut album ‘Hang Low’

2 September 2022

Elliott Dawson (he/him) is a songwriter based in Te Whanganui-a-Tara (Wellington). Dawson is best known for his work with guitar-pop foursome Doons, a staple of the Pōneke indie scene since 2018. With his new solo project, Dawson makes a stylistic shift, creating angry art rock inspired both by British post rock and south London jazz.

Today Elliott Dawson releases his debut album Hang Low, that features the singles CEO, Winter’s Ghost and Bald Spot. Hang Low explore Dawson’s relationship to masculinity, youth, and substance abuse.

ELLIOTT DAWSON
Hang Low
out August 2, 2022

Hang Low is a diverse listening experience, at times it’s full of sparse synths, and haunted saxophone, but it can turn on a dime, introducing maximalist rhythms and chugging bass. Dawson delivers reflective and grounded lyricism, of someone well beyond his years.

“I’ve always loved albums,” says Dawson, “the way that a body of work can be associated with a certain time or feeling or place in a sense that’s really hard to describe, and that’s different from singles or just songs removed from an album”

Hang Low didn’t come easy, “So much of the process was thinking that it was done and then ripping it up and starting again. I’ve pushed my limits musically and I’m so incredibly grateful for the people that have helped me along the way.”

“Having recorded four EPs and released three of them in my early 20’s it felt right to reach for something larger and harder. I’m really drawn to the idea of pushing myself as an artist, and going places that I haven’t been before or doing things I haven’t done yet”

Asked about how he feels now the album is released Dawson reflects “I’m proud of myself for doing it and funding it entirely on my own but really the joy of it is in the songwriting and playing music with people that I love greatly.”

“I feel like I’m just starting and hope that people can appreciate this body of work as it is.”