DAVID CARESS Introduces New Post-Punk/Electronic Project With Azure
Photo Credit: Michael Hallahan
Maine musician and luthier Dallas Seger is stepping far outside the metallic framework of MANIC ABRAXAS with DAVID CARESS, a new solo project whose debut album, Azure, arrives independently Oct. 9.
Seger, who founded alternative-metal trio MANIC ABRAXAS and operates Seger Guitars, wrote, performed and recorded the 12-track record himself. DAVID CARESS trades much of his heavier work for post-punk, new wave, electronic textures and atmospheric guitar music rooted in the late 1970s and early ’80s.
The result draws from the same broad territory occupied by DEPECHE MODE, NEW ORDER, SOFT CELL, THE CURE, BAUHAUS and COCTEAU TWINS without simply recreating the period. Seger uses vintage-inspired electronic textures and guitar tones as a foundation for songs that move between melancholy, psychedelia, pop melody and darker nocturnal moods.
The title track establishes that contrast immediately, pairing bright guitar textures and expansive electronics with lyrics centered on opposing emotional states: warmth and distance, clear skies and approaching storms.
“Sunshower,” “I Confess” and “Break The Same” push further into post-punk and electronic territory, while “Echoes In The Light” and “Wildflowers” introduce elements of English roots rock and psychedelia.
Much of Azure is built around that sense of duality. The record shifts between openness and isolation, nostalgia and forward motion, and the natural landscape of Seger’s native Maine against imagery that could just as easily belong to a decaying industrial city.
Its lyrical world follows the same pattern. Rather than offering straightforward narratives, Seger moves through fragmented scenes of nighttime streets, summer landscapes, strained relationships, memory and uncertainty, repeatedly returning to the idea that appearances rarely tell the entire story.
Although DAVID CARESS draws heavily from music several decades old, Azure is not framed simply as a retro exercise. Seger uses those reference points to explore where guitar-driven electronic music can move next, combining analog-feeling instrumentation with layered modern production.
Seger handled the primary instrumentation and recording himself. Tom Bennett of TODAY IS THE DAY contributed additional strings, while Justin Hamm of DYING MIND provided additional arrangements. Steve Austin of TODAY IS THE DAY mixed and mastered the album at Austin Enterprise.
Azure Track Listing
- “Azure”
- “Sunshower”
- “I Confess”
- “Angels Lies”
- “Summer’s Grip”
- “Cinnamon”
- “Gloaming”
- “Echoes In The Light”
- “Wildflowers”
- “Holy Ground”
- “Break The Same”
- “Shatter”
Azure will be released independently on digital platforms Oct. 9.