Dean Wareham (born 1 August 1963) is an American musician and actor who co-founded the band Galaxie 500 in 1987. He departed from Galaxie 500 in April 1991 and went on to establish the band
Luna. Following Luna's dissolution in 2005, Wareham has collaborated on albums with fellow Luna band member (and wife) Britta Phillips, forming the duo known as Dean & Britta. They have also ventured into film composition, notably contributing to the soundtracks of Noah Baumbach's films The Squid and the Whale (2005) and Mistress America. In 2014, Wareham released a self-titled album and in 2015, he reformed Luna.
With his laconic tenor delivery and lyrical, psych-tinged pop anthems, singer/guitarist Dean Wareham is a
revered indie rock icon who gained cult status fronting two legendary indie rock bands, Galaxie 500 and Luna, before going solo. Born in Wellington, New Zealand in 1963, Wareham spent most of his teen years living in New York City where his family moved in 1977. After high school, he moved to Boston for college, and spent a year living abroad in Germany before returning to Boston. In 1987, he formed Galaxie 500 with drummer Damon Krukowski and bassist Naomi Yang.
Wareham released the EP, Emancipated Hearts, under his own name in late 2013, which was followed by
the self-titled album Dean Wareham in March 2014. October 2018 saw the release of Dean Wareham Vs. Cheval Sombre - a collection of western-themed songs featuring Wareham and singer-songwriter Cheval Sombre. In 2021, Wareham released I Have Nothing to Say to the Mayor of L.A., the first full album of new songs since his eponymous 2014 solo album. In 2024, as Dean & Britta & Sonic Boom, he recorded an album of holiday and Christmas songs, mixed by Sonic Boom, and released on Carpark Records.
01. DEAN WAREHAM - EMANCIPATED HEARTS (EP) 2013
Emancipated Hearts, which was produced by the Papercuts frontman Jason Quever, showcases all of Wareham's musical trademarks in abundance. In Quever, Wareham has found a deeply sympathetic producer whose own recordings with the Papercuts displayed his knack for crafting evocative, vintage '60s
Baroque- and folk-pop-inspired productions that have an organic, analog sound. This is exactly what he brings to Wareham's material, setting him in what sounds like a large music hall and dressing his songs in layers of ringing guitars, vocal reverb, shimmery keyboards, and a delicate assemblage of viola and violin. A gorgeous showcase that brings together everything you've ever loved about Wareham's music, Emancipated Hearts isn't just a mini-album, it's a minor masterpiece.
(By Matt Collar)
Dean Wareham – Emancipated Hearts
Label:Double Feature Records – CD-DBL-0010
Format:CD, EP
Country:USA & Canada
Released:2013
Genre: Rock, Pop, Folk
Style:Indie Rock, Alternative Rock
TRACKS
01. Love Is Colder Than Death 4:01
02. Emancipated Hearts 5:12
Organ – Britta Phillips
03. The Deadliest Day Since The Invasion Began 3:20
Percussion – Jason Quever
04. The Longest Bridges In The World 5:47
Mixed By [Additional] – Britta Phillips
05. The Ticking Is The Bomb 4:07
06. Air 3:10
Percussion – Jason Quever
Songwriter – Mike Heron
07. Emancipated Hearts (My Robot Friend Re-mix) 4:15
Remix – My Robot Friend
LINE - UP
Guitar, Vocals – Dean Wareham
Bass, Piano, Backing Vocals – Britta Phillips
Drum, Percussion – Anthony LaMarca
Keyboards, Backing Vocals, Electric Guitar, Engineer, Mixed By – Jason Quever
Viola, Violin – Gillian Rivers
Songwriter – Dean Wareham (tracks: 1 to 5, 7)
Flac Size: 186 MB
02. DEAN WAREHAM AND CHEVAL SOMBRE - DEAN WAREHAM VS CHEVAL SOMBRE 2018
As one might expect, 2018's Dean Wareham vs. Cheval Sombre finds the Luna frontman teaming up with fellow New York psych-folkie Cheval Sombre (aka Christopher Porpora) on set of thoughtfully curated covers. Less expected is the album's loose cowboy theme. It brings to mind a late-'60s spaghetti Western
buddy movie with Wareham playing the wandering troubadour and Sombre the cool-eyed poet/gunslinger. However, rather than a dramatic shootout, this showdown plays more like a low-key acid Western, as our dreamy space cowboys seemingly trade songs over a warm campfire under a lysergic desert twilight. Joining them on their relaxed cattle run is producer Jason Quever, who previously helmed Wareham's 2013 Emancipated Hearts EP and Luna's own reunion covers album, 2017's A Sentimental Education. Also on board is Luna bassist Britta Phillips, some members of Papercuts and the War on Drugs, and others.
(By Matt Collar)
Dean Wareham vs. Cheval Sombre – Dean Wareham vs. Cheval Sombre
Label: Double Feature Records – CD-DBL-0015
Format: CD, Album
Country: US
Released: Oct 26, 2018
Genre: Rock
Style: Alternative Rock, Country Rock, Acoustic, Psychedelic
TRACKS
01. The Bend In The River 3:20
Backing Vocals – CS
Bass – B. Phillips
Drums – A. LaMarca
Percussion, Electric Guitar, Keyboards [Keys] – J. Quever
Vocals, Electric Guitar – DW
Written-By – Robbins
02. Tomorrow Is A Long Time 4:04
Backing Vocals – B. Phillips
Bass Guitar, Drums – J. Quever
Electric Guitar – DW
Vocals, Acoustic Guitar – CS
Written-By – Dylan
03. Mountains Of The Moon 3:38
Backing Vocals – B. Phillips
Drums – A. LaMarca
Piano, Tambourine – CS
Vocals, Guitar – DW
Written-By – Holland
04. If I Could Only Fly 4:38
Bass, Synthesizer – B. Phillips
Drums – W. Halsey
Electric Guitar – DW
Vocals, Acoustic Guitar – CS
Written-By – Foley
05. Wayfaring Stranger 2:50
Backing Vocals – CS
Bass, Backing Vocals – B. Phillips
Drums, Lap Steel Guitar – A. LaMarca
Keyboards [Keys], Backing Vocals – J. Quever
Viola – K. Wolfberg
Vocals, Guitar – DW
Written-By – Traditional
06. Alberta 3:27
Bass – B. Phillips
Drums – A. LaMarca
Electric Guitar – J. Quever
Omnichord [Q-chord] – DW
Vocals, Acoustic Guitar – CS
Written-By – Traditional
07. Wand'rin' Star 5:04
Bass – B. Phillips
Drums, Lap Steel Guitar – A. LaMarca
Electric Guitar – J. Quever
Vocals, Guitar – DW
Written-By – Lerner, Loewe
08. Greensboro Woman 2:55
Bass – B. Phillips
Drums – A. LaMarca
Keyboards [Keys] – J. Quever
Slide Guitar – DW
Vocals, Acoustic Guitar – CS
Written-By – Van Zandt
09. My Rifle, My Pony And Me 1:56
Backing Vocals – CS
Lap Steel Guitar – A. LaMarca
Saw – Gryphon Rue
Vocals, Guitar – DW
Written-By – Tiomkin, Webster
10. Grand Canyon 2:46
Bass – B. Phillips
Piano, Arranged By [String Arrangement] – J. Quever
Viola – K. Wolfberg
Vocals, Guitar – CS
Written-By – Merritt
LINE - UP
Performer – Cheval Sombre, Dean Wareham
Performer [With] – Anthony LaMarca, Britta Phillips, Gryphon Rue, Kaitlin Wolfberg, Will Halsey
Performer [With], Producer, Engineer, Mixed By – Jason Quever
Thank you - you know so much - Josef
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