The story of the Damnwells is not unfamiliar: around eight years ago Alex Dezen (lead vocals, guitar, piano), David Chernis (lead guitar), Ted Hudson (bass), and Steven Terry (drums) form the band and base it in Brooklyn. They release two CDs, Bastards of the Beat and Air Stereo. They get some good press, but the sales aren’t there.  They get released by their label. Last year David and Steve leave the band, and Alex gets accepted by the Writers’ Workshop at the University of Iowa and moves there last fall for the two year program.

But here’s where the story goes off the beaten path. Alex goes into the studio, records a record and decides it’s a Damnwells record after all; he said: “The Damnwells has always been about my songs with extremely talented musicians and producers collaborating.  The personnel have changed, but the essence—one of this week’s vocabulary words for the 7th graders I teach—remains the same.” And then that album, “One Last Century” is released for free. Eh, Radiohead did the download it and pay what you wish thing about a year and a half ago. But this is pay nothing, no guilt, legally free (well, you do have to leave an email address before you download but still that’s hardly what you can call a cost).

Alex explained:  “I have never worked so hard or put so much of myself into a collection of recorded songs.  It is for just this reason that I want to give it away. To me it makes perfect sense. I just want people to hear this music, and I don’t want them to have to enter into some kind of contractual agreement with a third party to do so.  Download the record, copy it and give it to your friends, lovers, and enemies.”

And “One Last Century” is just plain wonderful.  You could call it rock power pop with wonderful songs and great vocals. If you need a reference point, The Gin Blossoms aren’t all that far away from this.  We’ll even give you the free download link for the entire album.
—Eliot Wagner