The Only Road
Studio album by
Gabriel & Dresden
Released15 December 2017
Genre
Length68:00
LabelAnjunabeats
ProducerGabriel & Dresden
Gabriel & Dresden chronology
Gabriel & Dresden
(2006)		 The Only Road
(2017)		 Remedy
(2020)
Singles from The Only Road
  1. "This Love Kills Me"
    Released: 6 October 2017[2]
  2. "Waiting For Winter"
    Released: 11 November 2017[3]
  3. "White Walls"
    Released: 11 November 2017[3]
  4. "You"
    Released: 8 December 2017[4]

The Only Road is the second studio album by American electronic music duo Gabriel & Dresden, released on December 15, 2017[5][6] through Anjunabeats. This album marks their first collaborative effort together since their 2006 hiatus, where they separated to pursue their solo careers.[7] The idea for the album was initially put forward in a Kickstarter campaign[8] where the duo originally asked for $30,000 to cover studio and recording sessions, but managed to raise $73,000 from 700 backers after the campaign's deadline.[7]

Background

In the year 2008, Gabriel & Dresden decided to split up after completing their Winter Music Conference tour, with an extended five-hour set and a closing one-hour set.[1] The decision was due to internal conflicts they had with the direction they would be going as artists, which was worsened with Dresden's drug use issue and them not being able to get along while in the studio.[9] They still had reunions with one another, including a performance at the Hollywood Palladium on the 2010 New Year's Eve Day[10] and a world tour which followed from May to October 2011, where they officially announced themselves as reunited.[11] From 2015 to 2016, they embarked on an 18-month tour titled "Classics Only", where they only played music revolving around their old productions and selected modern tracks.[12][13]

During a two-hour conversation they held in 2016, the duo decided to talk about what made their relationship decline, which was never addressed previously.[9] This eventually rebuilt the trust they had in each other, with them knowing each other's strengths and weaknesses better. They launched a fundraising campaign on Kickstarter for a new album titled The Only Road to raise money for living expenses, as they lack the financial support of a record label and will not be touring during the album's production.[8] Out of the $30,000 which was asked as a gauge of interest, they closed the campaign receiving $73,172 from 700 backers.[7]

We were scared about that. That’s admitting to fans you don’t have any money. Being in the public eye, you want people to know you’re larger than life. So we were putting ourselves in a vulnerable place. But we almost funded the whole thing in one day. We didn’t know we had that many people that loved us and were waiting for new music from us. That got us in the right frame of mind.

—Dave Dresden, with regard to the funding of their album through Kickstarter[9]

Based on Gabriel & Dresden, the inspiration to produce the album came from the return of melody and emotion in modern electronic music. "Melody and emotion are making a comeback. This re-awakening inspired us after 11 years to make a new album. We wanted to get back to our roots and make something that celebrated our past while at the same time, giving us a chance to look to the future," stated the duo.[7] The album's title was revealed to be a play on the words "home is where the heart lies", which Gabriel described as "trying to stay true to ourselves" which was the road they followed to "lead them home" to what they know and believe.[14]

The first single of the album, "This Love Kills Me", was released on 6 October 2017 through Anjunabeats.[15] The track was also remixed by Above & Beyond, which was premiered during their 250th Group Therapy episode held at The Gorge Amphitheatre.[16] It was followed with a 2-track EP release on 7 November 2017 titled "White Walls", covering tracks "Waiting For Winter" and "White Walls".[3] The final single prior to the album's release was titled "You" and was released on 8 December 2017, one week before its arrival.[17]

Track listing

Tracklist adapted from AllMusic[18]

No.TitleLength
1."Only Road" (featuring Sub Teal)5:53
2."Free Your Mind"5:43
3."White Walls" (featuring Sub Teal)3:59
4."This Love Kills Me" (featuring Sub Teal)4:43
5."Underwater" (featuring Jan Burton)6:36
6."Hospital Piano"2:42
7."You" (featuring Jan Burton)6:09
8."Sequoia"6:05
9."Over Oceans" (featuring Josh Gabriel)5:34
10."Waiting For Winter" (featuring Jan Burton)6:38
11."Jupiter"6:16
12."I'm Not Like Everybody Else" (featuring Sub Teal)7:42
Total length:68:00

Critical reception

The Only Road was met with positive reception upon release. Grace Fleisher of Dancing Astronaut describes the album as “a highly contentious body of work that dates back to the sonic heyday of one of dance music’s most diligent virtuosos”. Grace went on to praise the album's singles by highlighting the usage of infectious melodies and Sub Teal's vocals in “This Love Kills Me”, and points out the ability of Jan Burton's vocals to produce a brooding atmosphere.[1] The Nocturnal Times Mark Mancino states that The Only Road is "full of genuine, mind-bending and body-moving creations”, and compliments the album for bringing out nostalgic feelings among its listeners.[19] Thomas Keulemans of We Rave You calls The Only Road a “true piece of art” and the “best album of 2017”, praising Gabriel & Dresden's skills to produce a multi-genre album whose tracks blend well together to create a fascinating story.[20]

Personnel

Credits adapted from AllMusic[18] and Discogs.[21]

Release history

Region Date Format Label Reference
Worldwide December 15, 2017 Anjunabeats [6]
December 22, 2017 [22]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Fleisher, Grace (2017-12-19). "Gabriel & Dresden make impassioned return on emotive new work 'The Only Road' [Album Review]". Dancing Astronaut. Archived from the original on 2017-12-26. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  2. ↑ "Gabriel & Dresden announce first album in 11 years, release single 'This Love Kills Me'". Dancing Astronaut. 2017-10-06. Archived from the original on 2018-02-06. Retrieved 2018-02-06.
  3. 1 2 3 "Gabriel & Dresden – White Walls [EP Review]". Dancing Astronaut. 2017-11-11. Archived from the original on 2018-02-06. Retrieved 2018-02-06.
  4. ↑ "You (feat. Jan Burton) - Single". iTunes. Retrieved 2018-02-06.
  5. ↑ Store, Anjuna Music. "Gabriel & Dresden - The Only Road. CD. Anjuna Music Store". Anjuna Music Store. Archived from the original on 2017-12-21.
  6. 1 2 "The Only Road - Gabriel & Dresden". iTunes. Retrieved 2017-12-21.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Gabriel & Dresden Ready First Album in 11 Years, Hear Synth-Rocking Single 'You': Exclusive". Archived from the original on 2017-12-21.
  8. 1 2 "NEW Gabriel & Dresden Album". Kickstarter. Archived from the original on 2016-12-17. Retrieved 2018-01-20.
  9. 1 2 3 Johnson, Kevin (2017-12-30). "Dance music duo Gabriel & Dresden moves past drama to make a 'vital' record". St. Louis Post Dispatch. Archived from the original on 2018-03-21. Retrieved 2018-03-21.
  10. ↑ "Giant New Years Eve 2011 feat Atb, Gabriel & Dresden, Kristina Sky, Dresden & Johnston, Francis Preve". Resident Advisor. Archived from the original on 2018-03-21. Retrieved 2018-03-21.
  11. ↑ "Gabriel & Dresden Reunite And Announce Their First World Tour In Three Years". Top40-Charts. Archived from the original on 2018-03-22. Retrieved 2018-03-22.
  12. ↑ Rusu, Sebastian (2017-12-16). "Gabriel & Dresden Make Their Long-awaited Return With 'The Only Road'". EDM Identity. Archived from the original on 2018-03-21. Retrieved 2018-03-21.
  13. ↑ Rusu, Sebastian (2017-12-14). "Gabriel & Dresden Celebrated the Start of "The Only Road" Tour at Cielo". EDM Identity. Archived from the original on 2018-03-22.
  14. ↑ May, Melissa (2017-12-30). "Gabriel & Dresden Exclusive Interview". One EDM. Archived from the original on 2018-03-22. Retrieved 2018-03-22.
  15. ↑ "Gabriel & Dresden Are Back With Anjunabeats for 'This Love Kills Me' as Well as 1st Album in 11 Years". EDMSauce. Archived from the original on 2018-02-19. Retrieved 2018-03-22.
  16. ↑ Castillo, Ryan (2017-10-18). "Gabriel & Dresden – This Love Kills Me (Above & Beyond Respray)". Dancing Astronaut. Archived from the original on 2018-03-22. Retrieved 2018-03-22.
  17. ↑ Goldberg, Sydney (2017-12-11). "Gabriel & Dresden Release Single 'You (feat. Jan Burton)' Off Upcoming Album". EDM Tunes. Archived from the original on 2018-03-22. Retrieved 2018-03-22.
  18. 1 2 "The Only Road - Gabriel & Dresden". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 2018-01-20. Retrieved 2018-01-20.
  19. ↑ Mancino, Mark (2017-12-15). "Gabriel & Dresden 'The Only Road': Nostalgic Dance At Its Finest [Anjunabeats]". The Nocturnal Times. Archived from the original on 2017-12-26. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  20. ↑ Keulemans, Thomas (2017-12-18). "Gabriel & Dresden – 'The Only Road' (Album Review)". We Rave You. Archived from the original on 2017-12-26. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  21. ↑ "Gabriel & Dresden – The Only Road at Discogs". Discogs. Retrieved 2018-03-22.
  22. ↑ "Gabriel & Dresden - Only Road". Amazon. Archived from the original on 2018-01-25. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
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