If you ask a casual fan about the Dave Matthews Band, they’ll probably hum a few bars of "Ants Marching" or "Crash Into Me." But if you ask the die-hards—the ones who’ve spent twenty years tracking setlists and debating the merits of various live bootlegs—the conversation eventually turns to 2012. That was the year Away From The World dropped. It was a weird, beautiful, and slightly polarizing moment in the band's history that felt like a homecoming and a goodbye all at once.
Honestly, a lot of people missed the significance of this album when it first came out. Maybe they were burnt out on the "jam band" label. Or maybe they just didn't realize that the man behind the glass was the same guy who built the foundation of their 90s superstardom.
The Return of the King: Steve Lillywhite
You can’t talk about Away From The World without talking about Steve Lillywhite. For those who aren't music production nerds, Lillywhite is the legendary producer who sat in the chair for the "Big Three"—the albums that defined the band's sound: Under the Table and Dreaming, Crash, and Before These Crowded Streets.
The history there is... complicated.
They famously scrapped an entire project with him in 2000 (the legendary Lillywhite Sessions) because the label thought it was too dark and depressing. It took fourteen years for them to get back into a room together. When they finally did at Studio Litho in Seattle, the chemistry was still there. You can hear it in the very first track, "Broken Things." There's a certain "snap" to Carter Beauford’s snare and a clarity in the horn arrangements that was missing for a decade.
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Lillywhite has this way of reigning in the band’s tendency to noodle while still letting them breathe. He basically told them to stop trying so hard to be "Dave Matthews Band" and just play.
The Sound of "Old" Dave in a Modern World
The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. That’s a massive feat. It made DMB the first group in history to have six consecutive studio albums debut at the top spot. But commercial success aside, the record feels intimate.
Take a song like "Sweet." Dave starts it out on a ukulele. It’s vulnerable, high-pitched, and feels like something he’d sing to his kids in the kitchen. Then you have "Belly Belly Nice," which is just pure, unadulterated funk. It’s got that "Shake Me Like a Monkey" energy but feels a bit more refined.
One thing that stands out? This was the last time we got to hear the full participation of violinist Boyd Tinsley before his departure in 2018. His "violin swirls," as some critics called them, are all over tracks like "Gaucho" and "Rooftop."
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The Masterpiece You Might Have Skipped
The real heart of the album is the closer: "Drunken Soldier."
Clocking in at nearly ten minutes, it’s the longest studio track they’ve ever recorded. It starts as a delicate folk song and evolves into this massive, orchestral rock crescendo. It’s the kind of song that reminds you why people travel across the country to see this band live. The lyrics are classic Dave—philosophical, a little bit rambling, but deeply human: "Make the most of what you've got / Don't waste time trying to be something you're not."
Why the Title Matters
The phrase Away From The World comes from a lyric in "The Riff." Dave has said in interviews that it’s about the idea that we are all born and die alone. Our bodies are essentially "boxes" that keep us away from the world out there.
It sounds bleak.
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But the music argues the opposite. The album feels like an attempt to break out of those boxes. Whether it’s the children’s choir on "Gaucho" or the urgent, political call-to-action in the lead single "Mercy," there’s a sense of searching for connection.
What Really Happened During the Sessions?
According to the band members, this was one of the fastest sessions they ever had. Tim Reynolds (the secret weapon on lead guitar) mentioned that they started with just two acoustic guitars—his and Dave’s—and built the rhythm section on top. It’s a complete reversal of how they made Big Whiskey & the GrooGrux King, which was a much more layered, "big" production.
Stefan Lessard’s bass work on this record is also criminally underrated. Listen to "Belly Full"—it’s barely two minutes long, but the groove is absolute filth.
Actionable Insights for Your Next Listen
If you haven't spun this record in a while, or if you only know the hits, here is how to actually experience it:
- Listen to the Deluxe Edition: The live versions of "Gaucho" and "Mercy" included as bonus tracks show how these songs transformed almost immediately once they hit the stage.
- Check the Credits: Notice how many tracks John Alagía co-produced. He’s the bridge between the old-school Lillywhite era and the modern DMB sound.
- Pay Attention to the Art: The cover art was drawn by Dave himself. It features people in little yellow boxes—a direct visual representation of the "body is a box" theme from "The Riff."
- Focus on the Horns: With Jeff Coffin and Rashawn Ross fully integrated into the lineup after the passing of LeRoi Moore, this album is a masterclass in modern horn section arrangement.
Away From The World isn't just another entry in a long discography. It’s the sound of a band finally comfortable in its own skin, reuniting with the man who helped them find their voice in the first place. It might not have the radio hits of Crash, but it has a soul that's just as deep.