Dag 'Benefits of Solitude' Vinyl LP

Dag play songs about the country, about the city, and about trying to find yourself somewhere in between. Always surrounded by isolation, living in your head - the company of strangers or the solitude of the bush.

Led by songwriter Dusty Anastassiou, Dag have gone through several lineups over their 3-year existence. Their new album was recorded over 2 years in Brisbane, with local musicians Matt Ford (Thigh Master, Tenth Court) on drums, Skye McNicol (Bent) on violin and Josh Watson (Sewers) on bass, also contributing to the mixing and coproduction of the album. The songs attempt to capture some of what is to live on the outskirts of a state or town - still isolated in the digital age from outside trends and current sounds.

The result is a mix of folk-rock and country, played in the bright, brittle style of 80's Australian indie bands like Tactics, The Cannanes and The Go-Betweens. Songs about love, loss, death and the dole make up the bulk of this record, delivered in a dead-pan Queensland drawl that resonates with earnest, honest lyricism - at once both comforting and confronting.

Some words: "There's doubt that Dusty Anastassiou will ever find the answers to the questions he's asking about on Dogwood'. But it doesn't matter, because simply asking those questions puts him leagues ahead of everyone else." - Ryan Saar, Soundly Sounds

"Comparisons to 90's Silver Jews wouldn't be out of place here. Listening to this album reminds one of the experience of coming across just such a band, back then. It's a wonderful discovery." - Ian Powne, 4ZZZ

"A guitar that sounds as if it might be strung with barbed wire and a voice that floats on deep clouds of fucked up country-tinged remorse and post-Jandek blues." - David Keenan, Volcanic Tongue

"Frontman / songwriter Dusty Anastassiou brings us 6 songs of backyard woe and mild joy not heard with the same guitar slingin' finesse in this crumbling town since early go-betweens." - Matt Kennedy, Eternal Soundcheck 

Tracklisting:
Side A:
1:Exercise
2:Staying Up at Night
3:Not Fine Mind
4:Know Where to Go
5:Company

Side B:
1:Age of Anxiety
2:Guards Down
3:J.B.
4:Benefits of Solitude
5:Endless, Aching Dance