Dawson Fuss Releases “Maybe”

Dawson Fuss is a name you should remember. This young Santa Barbara, California native is, in a sense, debuting twice with his new release Maybe. It’s his second EP, the first released three years ago when he was sixteen years old and exhibited considerable promise. It’s now fully realized though, and we can call Maybe a re-launching of sorts as it’s mature and fully realized in ways that his admittedly fine first effort edge of adolescence was not. Few young musicians/songwriters can boast they are responsible for such a well-developed and forward-looking release as Fuss can with this five-song sophomore outing. 

The union of unquestionable songwriting 101 fundamentals with a fantastic contemporary sound sets “Growing Pains” immediately apart. A closer examination of the song reveals even more. Fuss engages his lyrical subject with a focus that few, newcomers and experienced songwriters alike, can conjure. He writes about personal growth and the uncertainties it brings with aplomb that cuts through cliché and touches something deep within listeners. 

Less talented songwriters would have turned the second song “Life Sucks” into a heavy-handed or gimmicky attempt at comedy. In Fuss’ hands, however, the song cuts through the commonplace and makes a deeper impression. It relies on big beats, synthesizer contributions, and a free-ranging vocal melody that holds the listener’s attention from the beginning through the end. He never rests long on one particular line of attack and helps diversify the song’s message for the audience.

The title song is the EP’s showcase number. “Maybe” unfolds as a patient and deeply felt ballad that finds Fuss inviting his listeners to feel their way along with him as he attempts to reach a larger understanding of his life’s path. You feel as if this song is therapeutic, without question, and that he finished it feeling like he understood more about himself than he did before beginning the track. The depth of its maturity, both lyrically and musically, is bracing. 

The EP’s final two songs focus on interpersonal relationships. The frustrations seething throughout “Oblivious” are smoothed over for audience consumption thanks to the winning vocal and guitar melodies. His unabashed embrace of guitar at various points during the EP speaks to the influence of older music on his work; he definitely doesn’t consider the instrument to be passe. “Say the Words” is the most intimate moment on the EP. Ending Maybe with an acoustic ballad provides us with a gentler final curtain than many of the earlier songs would have, and the emotional currents powering this track run as deep as ever. 

It’s a powerful release that I won’t soon forget. Dawson Fuss is, in many ways, already a complete talent, and I’m enthralled with where he can take his gifts from here. One thing, if nothing else, is certain – he will always be writing and playing music, for himself if no one else. He’s a college student now enrolled in the University of Miami’s famed Frost School of Music, but the trajectory of his life is fixed. The music world is a better place because of it. 

Mindy McCall