Dino Expedition’s Tahlia Amanson takes us track-by-track through her band’s debut album ‘Thanks a Million,’ a heavy-hitting and deeply human indie rock album that aches inside and out with the weight of memory and raw emotion.
Stream: “Marie” – Dino Expedition
Their band name may reference old reptiles, but Dino Expedition is uncompromisingly, unapologetically, and undeniably human.
The trio’s debut album Thanks a Million aches inside and out with raw emotion as the group pick at the past like one might a scab, revealing layers of feeling under moments from long ago.
Sorry for my delay
my skin was blue,
but that’s okay.
My feet were weak
down in the creek
right off the cusp
of Iris street.
Could you forget one day
what happened to you yesterday.
It was okay!
– “Marie,” Dino Expedition
Independently released November 15th, Thanks a Million is a soul-stirring alternative reverie driven by memory and emotion – those things that, above everything else, make us human.
It’s a heavy and hard-hitting introduction to Dino Expedition – the trio of Tahlia Amanson, Aiden Velazquez (bass guitar), and McCabe Teems (drums) – and one that puts the brand new Brooklyn trio on the map, thanks to their breathtakingly intimate brand of indie rock.
As Amanson explains, Thanks a Million’s story is as much a tale of risk and reward, as it is one of self-reflection and inner reckoning.
“The whole process of making this record was a life changing one, to say the least,” she tells Atwood Magazine. In spring of 2022, I was attending Pratt Institute for creative writing. One night, I was sitting at a bar with some friends. I don’t know what hit me, but I felt this sudden urge to email Calvin Lauber, my favorite engineer of all time. We didn’t know each other, and I truly believed that this email, introducing my music, wouldn’t lead to much. Little did I know, Calvin listened to some of my previous work that I emailed and believed in what was to come.”
“That fall of 2022, I packed up my car to the brim, and drove from the Bay Area, along I-40 to Memphis. Calvin, Elijah Poston, and I spent 10 hours a day for 10 whole days, bringing these seven songs to life. I learned so much – from new friendships to the beauty that reverberates through Memphis. I grew my knowledge on what type of sound I wanted for the band moving forward. This record made me inclined to move back to Brooklyn to start the band, leaving my studies at Pratt behind.”
Amanson leaves few stones unturned as she unravels herself like a ball of yarn across these seven songs. “This record is a recollection of the last fifteen years of my life, dispersing between the troubles that went on with my parents’ relationship, to the naiveness of a young teenage girl,” she explains. “I never really have a clear vision when writing. I think allowing freedom of the mind to carry your words is most important. This record is more of a collection to me, not intentional or planned. Each song was already written, so by the time we decided to record, it was just luck of the draw when choosing the songs. In regard to my writing, it’s all little snapshots from past experiences – this is how I tell my story. I rely heavily on words that emphasize imagery, it’s what I’ve always gravitated towards when reading long essays or poetry – the words!”
For her, it’s not just what she says, but how she and the band say it that really makes this music so special. “This record covers a lot of ground, not only lyrically, but instrumentally. Each song was created to feel like you’re looking at a widespread landscape, yet so personable you can sense every movement and element within. I do feel that this record captures my attention to detail. I’ve always gravitated towards music that can be played a billion times, yet always offers something new to the ear with every listen.”
To that end, Amanson candidly describes Thanks a Million as ‘periscope, bandaged, evolve’ – using words that reflect her emotional deep-dive, as well as her own personal growth and ongoing intimate journey.
The album’s title, she explains, is an homage to a loved one.
“My grandfather, Paul, was the only extended family member who lived near me growing up,” she says. “Although I didn’t see him much, on rare occasions we exchanged words over the phone. I always admired his recollection of the past, his care for storytelling. Unlike most people, he would always end the calls with the saying, ‘Thanks A Million.’ It always felt like a tribute to the patience and attention we would give to him. My own storytelling has brought me some closure with many past experiences, so I wanted the title to relay gratitude to not only the listeners, but also the experiences that at the time may have not been beautiful, but now are a part of me and my story.”
Highlights abound on the journey from the album’s enchanting, scene-setting opener “Nextdoor” to its captivating, cathartic closer, “Pink Moon.” The dramatic, intense “Lose Your Mind” recalls moments of fear and tragedy through a hazy of heavy, heated alt-rock, while “Comfort You” deftly unpacks emotional damage, intimacy, and the fragility of youth.
Fourth track “Marie” is disarmingly beautiful – a vulnerable, shiver-inducing, intimate indie folk song of trauma and innocence, trust betrayed and promises broken. In premiering the song this fall, Atwood Magazine praised it as a dreamy, soul-stirring eruption from those haunting, innermost human depths: “Far more ‘folk’ than shoegaze or dream pop, ‘Marie’ is deceptively mellifluous, its easygoing melodies and sweet harmonies covering up some of the more visceral churn at its core.”
For Amanson, it’s not a single song, but rather the recording experiences themselves that she’ll carry with her moving forward. “The night before I began my road trip to Memphis to record Thanks a Million, my pal and I went to see Pavement in SF,” she recalls. “If I may say so myself, it was one of the best concerts I have ever seen – the record honestly wouldn’t sound the way it does if I hadn’t seen their live show. During the production of ‘Comfort You’ and ‘Lose Your Mind,’ we actually ended up recording live double drums because I was so moved by Pavement’s live double drum performance that it felt like a necessity for these two tracks. I remember being in the console room watching Calvin and Elijah record the drums – the heaviness of the bass drum and floor tom felt like a live heartbeat.”
Ultimately, it takes a record like Thanks a Million to jolt us out of our daily doldrums and appreciate who we are and where we come from.
Yes, there’s so much that makes us who we are, but at our core, we are an ever-increasing collection of memories and lived moments, emotions and experiences. In listening to these seven songs, it’s like we are experiences a piece of Amanson’s humanity itself; she’s gifted us that powerful connection in creating these songs and releasing them to the world.
“There’s so much to take from this record,” Amanson shares. “I do feel like every song offers something different. As a collective though, I hope people are able to turn to their inner child after listening to the record, and become inspired to collect their own stories from the past that may have been buried.”
“From before making this record, ‘til now, I’ve learned a lot about allowing space for new ideas,” she adds. “My time at Memphis Magnetic and working with Calvin Lauber really opened my eyes on the type of sound that I wanted for Dino Expedition. Originally when we started recording, I had brought my own gear to use for the record. Calvin and I ended up experimenting with a lot of vintage gear at the studio, most of which I have acquired now for our live shows!”
Experience the full record via our below stream, and peek inside Dino Expedition’s Thanks a Million with Atwood Magazine as the band goes track-by-track through the music and lyrics of their debut album!
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:: stream/purchase Thanks a Million here ::
:: connect with Dino Expedition here ::
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Stream: ‘Thanks a Million’ – Dino Expedition
:: Inside Thanks a Million ::
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Nextdoor
Stability was always tricky to comprehend as a young child. When my parents decided to finally settle in a small coastal town outside of San Francisco, I truly witnessed what it felt like to be an outsider, in a town where everyone knew everything about one another. Track 1; Nextdoor is about a time when I put trust into someone whom I’d thought was a friend, only to realize that they were leading me into a deadly experience where I almost didn’t make it home that night.
Lose Your Mind
A few days after July 4th 2019, a gigantic fire broke out in the lot next to my family’s house. Til this day I remember the fear in my father’s voice, the panic in his eyes to get the family out of the house at the break of dawn. I had truly thought that we were going to lose everything. Track 2; Lose Your Mind, revisits that whole scenario, with specific details outlining the fear of my fathers childhood house fire, to the present.
Comfort You
At the time that I wrote Track 3; Comfort You, I was escaping a point in time when my naiveness was taken advantage of by someone that I had put trust into. Throughout the song, I start to realize the extent of possession this person had on me during a fragile time in my teen years. The process of making this song was in a sense like re-learning how to take in comfort as a safety net rather than what I had only known as an escape signal.
Marie
My good pal would always say “Sorry for my delay.” I found myself starting to use this phrase quite frequently, there seemed to be solace in what almost sounded like a distanced slow burn. I don’t like rhyming, so when I originally started writing Marie, it was sort of a joke, since I was going against a pet peeve of mine. Track 4; Marie ended up turning into an ode to the woman my father was seeing secretly when her parents were going through a rough patch in their marriage – looking at the pain and isolation through the lens of my own childhood innocence.
Clockwork
Throughout my childhood, there was a lot of drastic change. At six years old, I had already been enrolled in six different schools, across two different states. The only thing that seemed steady was my parents’ love for one another. It was the start of highschool when I started to notice that things between them weren’t perfect. Track 5; Clockwork is about that silver lining that we find as we grow up, between what we thought could never happen when we were young, to actually all those “horror stories” becoming real.
Apology Letters
After the 2008 economic collapse, everything changed for my family. My father was gone most of the time at jobs far up north, leaving my mother to take care of two daughters by herself. In Track 6; Apology Letters describes my own complex father-daughter relationship. I remember writing apology letters to my parents as a child, slipping them under the bedroom door when I had done something wrong. In a sense, there is a part of me that is wanting to receive one after all these years.
Pink Moon
Right before I moved to Brooklyn to attend Pratt Institute, I took a walk on my favorite trail overlooking the pacific ocean. It was such a lovely night, the moon glowing, and coincidentally, I was listening to Nick Drake. Track 7; Pink Moon speaks about coming to terms with the fact that I was moving on with my life, creating a new chapter. While I was accustomed to packing my bags, it was the first time I was to do so alone, and on my own terms.
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:: stream/purchase Thanks a Million here ::
:: connect with Dino Expedition here ::
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© Riley Natalova
© Riley NatalovaThanks a Million
an album by Dino Expedition
