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| From | "Stewart Mason" <craigtorso@verizon.net> |
| Subject | Dappled Cities |
| Date | Thu, 14 Jun 2007 04:08:34 -0400 |
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Okay, given that people are quite happy to bitch about Paul McCartney
threads but can't be arsed to proffer anything new or interesting to
talk about instead, here's my soon-to-be-published review of one of
the most enjoyable albums I've heard in the last few months,
GRANDDANCE by Dappled Cities. I think it'd appeal to some. Songs
here:
http://www.myspace.com/dappledcitiesfly
Dappled Cities -- GRANDDANCE (Dangerbird)
Australian art-pop rockers Dappled Cities (formerly Dappled Cities
Fly) come across like some sort of gleefully cracked mash-up of
Pavement, 10cc and Flaming Lips on their US debut Granddance.
Normally, a band as fond of bizarre falsetto vocals (opening track
"Holy Chord," the driving and otherwise oddly Radiohead-like "Vision
Bell"), willfully obscurantist lyrics (pretty much everything) and
oddball arrangement and production tricks (ditto) would find their
albums too insular to appeal to anyone beyond a small hipster cult,
but the secret weapon of Dappled Cities is an undeniable pop sense
that makes Granddance sound like someone slipped the Shins a massive
dose of acid and a whole bunch of early Todd Rundgren and Split Enz
LPs, then sent them into the studio. The songs are richly melodic to
begin with, and then the elaborate production layers on a couple dozen
ear-grabbing hooks per song on top of that, resulting in gloriously
odd confections like "The Eve, the Girl" and "Watercourse" and
completely over the top extravaganzas like the pseudo-martial album
closer "Battlewon." The sort of album that takes a couple listens to
truly sink in, once Granddance reveals its pure-pop underpinnings, it
becomes difficult to stop listening to.
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