Dope Lemon Talks Spirit Animals, Death and More Ahead of Denver Show

Angus Stone believes that when he shuffles off this mortal coil, the Golden Wolf, a mythic creature born of his active imagination, will shepherd him along the journey to the next realm of consciousness.

It’s not an unheard-of concept, as several Eastern religions include tales of such unearthly guide animals, but Stone’s is uniquely his own, a “somewhat spirit animal,” as he sees it. This idea of a personal guardian inspired his latest album, aptly titled Golden Wolf, released earlier this month under the moniker of Stone’s longstanding solo project, Dope Lemon.

The Australian singer-songwriter admits he meditated on what it means to die, particularly what happens postmortem, when writing the ten-song record. “I dove into talking about and conceptualizing what it is to meet the end of our mortality and finality, what it is that will take us to the next life, who will take us there, possibly, and what we will leave behind,” he explains. “I played with the idea of the Golden Wolf, this somewhat spirit animal, that would lead me into the next one.”

But Stone isn’t one to fear the reaper. In fact, he’s “the undertaker’s favourite song to dance to,” as he proclaims on opener “John Belushi.” Instead, Stone’s motivated by the finite amount of time we’re given and expressed that sentiment on Golden Wolf.

“I’ve always felt invincible, and that time is infinite, and I still do, but I think sometimes talking about it is an interesting thing. We all end up at the same place at the end of what this is together and what it is that we do,” Stone shares.

“Time is the best that we can do, hopefully. It’s a nice reminder to check in with like, ‘What are we doing with life?’ We only got so much time here, it’s cool to think about, making sure that we make the most of it.”
While it might seem like a heady, existential topic to cover, Golden Wolf doesn’t come off as all doom-and-gloom or pretentious sonically. On the contrary, actually. As becomes Stone’s trademark, such tracks as “Electric Green Lambo” and “Sugarcat” bounce and roll along thanks to the leisurely employment of laid-back indie surf-rock and disco-funk.

He credits the wellspring of creativity behind Golden Wolf to the new-yet-retro surroundings of his recently acquired homestead in Murwillumbah, nestled between Byron Bay and Brisbane in New South Wales. The 1970s mansion is also where Stone and his sister Julia set up Sugarcane Mountain Studios.

“It was like looking into a time capsule. Nothing had been moved. All the furniture was retro,” he says. “That for me has been my new place to create. Very much like a guitar can tell a story through its age and who’s handled it, I feel like the walls of this studio had something magic to it. That’s where we wrote Golden Wolf.”

The first song born within the evocative space ended up being the title track for Stone’s seventh Dope Lemon release.

“We were just sitting there, and we tracked the instrumental side of the song, and I feel like if you’re open to signs and messages and also just the music, like the walls of the studio like the guitar that you buy off of someone who owned it forever has a story to tell, the music is the same way,” Stone says. “If you allow it, it will tell you where to go, and that leads into what that became. Playing around with that idea, sometimes you just have to let go and follow that little rabbit wherever it wants to go.”

The 39-year-old, who’s spent his adult life in music, including performing alongside his older sibling as part of indie-folk duo Angus & Julia Stone, comes across as some kind of hippie sound shaman. And by extension, Dope Lemon’s proved to be the best way to deliver his sermons since 2016.

Stone brings Dope Lemon to Denver on Thursday, May 29, to preach at the Fillmore Auditorium. The Palms are also on the bill. When it comes to concerts, he approaches them the same way he does everything involving Dope Lemon: by not having too much of a preconceived plan.

“I feel like music lives in the now. ... I’ll walk in the studio and whatever happens on the microphone at that time is what will be the song. I feel like that’s possibly why people are drawn to the music that they’re feeling. It’s real,” he says. “I feel like it has to come from the heart first, and if people connect with it in the end, that’s so fucking cool and beautiful, but it has to start with you and how you feel."

So before he or anyone else meets the Golden Wolf of recent Dope Lemon lore, he’s all for “drinking beers and taking tequila shots on stage.”

"We revel in the joy of that synergy of the night and the crowd,” Stone concludes. “We’re looking for a good time, we want to hang and get some fireworks popping off and have some beautiful connections with great human beings who love music.”

Dope Lemon, with the Palms, 7 p.m. Thursday, May 29, Fillmore Auditorium, 1510 Clarkson St. Tickets are $48-$88.