Dallas Good + Richard Reed Parry – Were “The Watchtowers” [RSD 2026] (LP, CANADA)

B1. Hope I Dream Again
B2. Are You Gone (feat. Margaret Atwood)
B3. The Hole in the Wall (feat. Neko Case)
B4. Not in This World

Record Store Day (US) info:

Were “The Watchtowers” is the final recordings of Dallas Good of The Sadies, recorded prior to his unexpected passing in February 2022. This collaboration between Good and Richard Reed Parry of Arcade Fire (originally calling their duo “The Watchtowers”) had slowly been written and recorded over the course of a decade whenever the two had a spare weekend. “It has been the slowest moving musical endeavour of my entire life,” Parry says. “We didn’t plan to do it this way, it’s just how it happened. Tiny, joyous flourishes of activity a couple times a year for over a decade.”

Many of Good’s collaborators make guest appearances on the album, including Neko Case, Kurt Vile, Yo La Tengo, Jim Jarmusch, John Doe, Jon Spencer, Scott McCaughey, Gary Louris and Margaret Atwood. The album explores the cosmic, psychedelic Americana sounds that The Sadies perfected on 2022’s Colder Streams that featured Parry in the producer’s chair. The final track on the album “Not in This World” boasts a chorus of over 500 of Dallas’ friends and fans from around the world singing together on Dallas’ final piece of recorded music. The album is pressed on white vinyl and limited to 1,000 copies worldwide and is exclusively available first at Record Store Day 2026.

Record Store Day (UK) info:

“Dallas Good (of the Sadies) and Richard Reed Parry (of Arcade Fire) had been collaborating on their album Were ‘The Watchtowers’ for over a decade until Dallas Good unexpectedly passed away in 2022. Dallas’ passing inspired Parry to find collaborators to help finish the album, including Neko Case, Buffy Sainte-Marie and Margaret Atwood (author of The Handmaid’s Tale). These are the final recordings of Dallas Good and a testament to his musical legacy. The album will be pressed on limited edition colour vinyl. The final track “Not in This World” features a chorus of Dallas’ friends and fans from around the world singing together on Dallas’ final piece of recorded music, a fan-sourced song that will part of this album exclusively available first at Record Store Day.”

nb. In October 2025 there was a mailout requesting contributions from fans for the song ‘Not In This Word’.

“Hello Friends,

As many of you know, three years ago our dear friend Dallas Good passed away completely unexpectedly.

He and I had been slowly making an album together since shortly after we met, a little over fifteen years ago. We got together a couple of times per year and wrote songs and recorded, working at a very relaxed pace.

And then, somehow, he was gone. Dallas died before we had completed our album and there were two songs that we still hadn’t written lyrics for. One of them is the last song Dallas ever worked on, called “Not in This World.” The title, which is also the main refrain in the song, is extra poignant now that he’s gone, almost eerily so. Finishing the lyrics and the record without him has been a strange and very emotional journey. Thankfully Dallas’ brother Travis came and sang harmony in his place.

To anyone who knew Dallas, or was a fan of his music, I’d like to ask your help in finishing this, the last song he ever wrote. We are going to sing it for him, and sing it to him, and wherever he is now I think he’d be really pleased to hear so many of his friends, family and fans singing together in his honour. Many of Dallas’ friends are singing on the song, including Kurt Vile, Neko Case, Yo La Tengo, John Doe, The Mekons, Jon Spencer, and Gary Louris, and we’d love for you to sing alongside them.

If you’d like to sing, email SingForDallas@gmail.com and you’ll receive a short audio clip of the song’s final refrain. Play it in headphones and record your voice singing along with it. Record it on your computer or phone or any other means you have.

The refrain in the song is simple – “not in this world, not in this world.” As I mentioned earlier – they’re extra poignant words, now that he’s no longer with us.

If it’s easier, or more fun, get together with a friend and record each other. Don’t get too fussy about how it sounds, we’ll make it work and we’ll make it something beautiful. There is nothing I love more in this sweet old world than singing with  friends.

Thank you for joining us,
Richard (with Dallas somewhere nearby)

RUN-OUT GROOVE ENGRAVING/MATRIX: