Sometimes it takes a happy accident to join two people together in the art of making music, and that’s exactly how vocalist Ricky Lewis and guitarist Adam Rubenstein came together as collaborators in 2010. “A friend of Ricky’s who I’d never met before approached me at a party and said, ‘I think you’d mesh stylistically with this amazing songwriter I know,'” Rubenstein recalls. He may have been skeptical, but the chemistry revealed itself as advertised, and the two quickly formed Dear Lions.
The resulting music offers an honest and emotive sonic backdrop, marked by Lewis’ heartbreaking lyrics. The vocal sweetness of Jeff Buckley, the musical diversity of My Morning Jacket and the tasteful rough edges of Big Star, all manifest themselves on the band’s debut self-titled EP, due out on August 26th 2011. Astute listeners may also hear some fretwork similarities to Rubenstein’s other longtime band, Midwestern mainstays Chamberlain.
Dear Lions’ first single, “Space Sister,” has already been championed by Aol Spinner, Rollingstone.com, and others. To Lewis, the song exemplifies his personal struggles from working stiff to aspiring musician — and more importantly the redemptive quality that only music can provide. “I wrote this song at 4 or 5 in the morning after waiting tables for something like 12 hours,” says Lewis. “I was nearing the end of my rope in terms of working survival jobs, thinking about moving back home, leaving New York City. That’s probably why the lyrics in ‘Space Sister’ have this apocalyptic theme”.
Arctic Rodeo releases:
DEAR LIONS – “Dear Lions” – vinyl 10″+CD (arr033)