SHROUDED IN DARKNESS. The three members of Dames are set to release
an expansive, full record.

If two is company, then three is a crowd – at least that’s what the sonorous, genre-blending melodies of Eau Claire trio Dames would lead listeners to believe they’re hearing. And this crowd works well together.

Adding a third mind – Evan Middlesworth – to the mix is a contributing factor to the big-time sound on their upcoming album Time Spent, set to release June 6.

Dames, a band born, and named, out of a combination of Dan Boetcher and James Ignacio, has been playing quasi-country tunes together since 2009. Middlesworth was closely involved in the production of their 2011 debut Could’ve been Jan, so the duo saw it fit he become a member.

Boetcher said the group likened the writing of their latest project to cultivating a garden: planting ideas and seeing how they grow.

“I think it’s pretty organic how it all comes together, at least from a creative standpoint. ... We don’t shoot ideas down very easily,” Boetcher said. “So for us it’s kind of a ‘throw it at the wall and see what sticks’ process.”

Seeing what sticks isn’t always a collaborative effort, as Boetcher said the group prefers working individually and leaving ideas for another member to pick up and approach with a fresh interpretation.

“I think it’s pretty organic how it all comes together, at least from a creative standpoint ... we don’t shoot ideas down very easily.”– Dan Boetcher on the new Dames record

As if a malleable songwriting process wasn’t ambitious enough, Dames mic’s up all of its members for vocals to support their diverse instrumentation.

“I think we focus on harmony and melody before all else,” Boetcher said. “All three of us sing at once at times, and also we take lead on certain songs. It just comes together from there.”

In the span between their first effort and Time Spent, Dames has grown more ways than just numbers. Ignacio said he’s convinced that each of the members has matured as a writer, enough for listeners to pick out.

“We tried to keep the first one as more of a duo,” Ignacio said. “Adding the third layer has certainly opened up a lot more possibilities.”

Middlesworth said the upcoming album is more deeply layered as a result of James’s saxophone abilities, flushed vocal harmonies, and some added horn players to “thicken the sound.”

Time Spent weighs in at nine songs, a total that was whittled down from 15. While it’s mostly composed of new songs, Ignacio said they’re planning to release “some that have been in the hopper since before Dames was formed.”

In addition to their originals, it’s not uncommon to see Dames play a spread of covers during a live set – ranging from The Avett Brothers to The Beatles to Blitzen Trapper – which is a testament to the versatility of their sound.

“I also think we all have different backgrounds, styles, and tastes, so we’re able to meet in the middle,” Middlesworth said. “We don’t really have a steadfast genre, it’s more about ideas coming together ... whatever makes the tunes sound good to us.”

With children, going on adventurous tours isn’t always in the range of possibilities, but that won’t stop Dames from embarking on a string of shows across the Midwest – spreading their sound from “Duluth to Chicago and everywhere in between” – after their June 6 CD release show at the Volume One Gallery, 205 N. Dewey St.

To learn more about the band and to hear some tunes, visit www.reverbnation.com/dameswi