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Review Summary: Dappled Cities' 3rd LP zounds impeccably crafted, but something's missing. Have you ever put an enormous amount of your heart, soul and time into a project, only to have it be met with disinterest by everyone but your proud self? That has NOT occurred with Dappled Cities’ 3rd LP ‘Zounds’, since reviews have generally been strong. But it should have… At least initially. One can clearly hear the effort that the Sydney quintet has put forth here, since the music on evidence is impeccably put together to the most minute detail. The combination of synths and live instrumentation often blends together seamlessly to result in an art-pop concoction that reminds of The Flaming Lips! Yet, there is something uninvolving and almost sterile about the finished product which unfortunately lessens its impact and does not demand you coming back to the record for repeated listens.
Those who have had the opportunity to hear previous releases by the band (when they were named Dappled Cities Fly) will recall their energetic and upbeat poppiness ruling the roost. However, there is a clear intention to make ‘Zounds’ a darker, more brooding effort. This could well be the major issue at hand, since the album’s relative lack of accessibility gives the initial indication that the quintet has not located the right balance between credibility & catchiness. This is especially so when it comes to the two-pronged vocal attack of Tim Derricourt & Dave Rennick, which too rarely demands your attention. The same can be said of the lyrics which are occasionally quite good, but too often fail to draw you in emotionally.
It is no surprise then that ‘Zounds’ works best when Dappled Cities are leaning a little more towards where they are most comfortable. The more accessible tracks such as ‘Answer Is Zero’, ‘Kid’ and lead single ‘The Price’ are all such songs, with the latter’s chorus of “Something should be holding us back, something should be weighing us down” being the most infectious vocal of the album. There is more to ‘Zounds’ than meets the eye however, and a number of tracks reveal their quality on subsequent listening. ‘The Night Is Young At Heart’ & ‘Apart’ have a quirky enthusiasm which is difficult to dislike, while ‘Miniature Alas’ woos via 1960s-like harmonies and an extended instrumental jam. The majority of the rest of the cuts can optimistically be described as slow-burners. Unfortunately, they are a little too slow-burning for their own good and come off as rather boring.
‘Zounds’ is a difficult album to pin down and listeners may find themselves going through a number of different emotions and opinions while hearing it. Contradictory adjectives such as infectious & boring, as well as enthusiastic & slow-burning, come to mind, while an individual’s mood at the time of listening will also come into play. Is it a case of style over substance? That may be going too far. More likely, ‘Zounds’ is the sound of a band looking to expand their sound into a more complex product. If that is the case, then Dappled Cities have achieved their objective. Whether that is always a positive is a totally different matter.
Recommended Tracks: The Price, Kid & The Night Is Young At Heart.
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Album Rating: 3.0
Oh man, this review was a nightmare to write. I started it 2 weeks ago when the album was released in the U.S, but it went through a few re-writes as my opinions on certain songs changed. So if the review comes off a little disjointed, that is why.
I was going to turf the review, but since no-one had even rated the album in the meantime, I thought any review would be better than nothing… Especially since a few scribes down under already have this around the mark as the best Aussie album of 2009!
Recommended for fans of The Flaming Lips and also including a few hints of some of David Bowie’s work, this could even make a few ‘Best of 2009’ lists. Not mine though.
| | | Album Rating: 3.0
Agree with most of what you said. Some songs are good but there is more filler than there was on even Granddance which was about 40% filler. Holds absolute fuck all on A Smile.
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cool, i'll spin it for the bbq tomorrow... the lady loves david bowie and the flaming lips.
| | | Album Rating: 3.0
So cool that you commented on this sgrevs... After reading your 'A Smile' review & seeing your rating for 'Granddance', I was really interested to see what you thought of this. Funnily enough, I got it wrong, as I thought you'd probably rate this a 3.5 or 4. I just thought you'd prefer the shying away from the more poppier stuff...
Sobhi, only a couple of songs remind me of Bowie, but there is definitely a Flaming Lips comparison throughout most of it. Of course, it's not The Flaming Lips at their best.
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The mere mention of The Flaming Lips in the first paragraphs makes me want this. Also how hard does Embryonic rule?
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not that hard tbh
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=(
| | | Album Rating: 3.0
Don't you just love the way Sobhi can defuse hype with only a few words.
Ross, The Flaming Lips have always been a bit (for want of a better term) "here & there" for me. As you know, I'm not the hugest indie-head around, so their (& this) type of music tends to have to grow on me. Obviously by my 1st comment, I gave this particular album an enormous amount of time to do so & many songs just didn't. As for 'Embryonic' specifically, it's way too early for me to call. That's just me though & I'll have to keep it in mind whenever the hell I foolishly decide to review something similar to this in the future.
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I'm going to be honest and say i haven't heard of these guys.
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Represent!
These guys have honestly bordered on mediocre for such a long time now, this comes as no surprise. Did you like their previous stuff?
| | | Album Rating: 3.0
So cool that you commented on this sgrevs... After reading your 'A Smile' review & seeing your rating for 'Granddance', I was really interested to see what you thought of this. Funnily enough, I got it wrong, as I thought you'd probably rate this a 3.5 or 4. I just thought you'd prefer the shying away from the more poppier stuff...
I dunno man, A Smile is incredible, but after that they started moving away from the guitar based songs toward more synth based stuff, which is fine, and I think it's good that they didn't keep doing the same thing, its just not as good.
Bordering on 3 for me but The Night is Young At Heart annoys me so much I can't do it. The Price and Wooden Ships are my favourites I think. Wooden Ships reminds me of Beach Song, which is a good thing.
Edit: Also, my review for A Smile was over 3 years ago and was the last review I wrote. It's so bad.
| | | Album Rating: 3.0
"I'm going to be honest and say i haven't heard of these guys." A little surprising Billy. They're a Sydney band who have never really charted or anything like that, but they do get a fair bit of indie-type hype.
"These guys have honestly bordered on mediocre for such a long time now, this comes as no surprise. Did you like their previous stuff?" I'm not sure if it's that they're mediocre Alex, rather than tha they try to be too many things to too many people. It almost sounds as if they are 2 separate bands in one. Maybe it's because of the 2 vocalists, I dunno. As for their 2 previous LPs, I found Granddance fairly similar to this in that it's hit & miss. I will eb honest, my only experience with 'A Smile' was a while back now & my memory of it has faded.
"Bordering on 3 for me but The Night is Young At Heart annoys me so much I can't do it. " Haha, I had a feeling you would not like one or two of the songs I did... & vice-versa. Yet, we both arrive at practically the same conclusion. Probably says something.
"my review for A Smile was over 3 years ago and was the last review I wrote. It's so bad." Nah man, it gets the point across just fine. Any intentions of getting back into the reviewing game?
| | | Album Rating: 3.0
Haha, I've tried starting a few over the years but I've always lost interest. Maybe one day I'll write another full one worthy of posting but don't hold your breath.
Don't think I said it before, but this is a great review.
| | | Album Rating: 3.0
Go on, give it a go. Just find an album that won't put so much pressure on yourself to get every last detail right.
And thanks re: the review. I can assure you that I put a fair bit of work into it. As I said previously, it went through a lot of re-writes. Reading back over it, I can tell that it did, but that's probably because I already know what I changed & where.
By the way, it will be interesting to see if this album does any business overseas as I believe it is going to get some promotion. Personally, I doubt it though. It would need a hype machine like Pitchfork to get behind it.
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Not much of a fan these days but Peach and Cream are two of the best Australian songs of this decade.
| | | Album Rating: 3.0
I was wondering when you were going to comment on this DavID because I thought you may like them.
Tell me something then; How does a band go from you thinking they have 2 of the best Oz songs of the decade to "not much of a fan"? In other words, what has it been specifically to make you drop off them?
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I honestly wish I could answer that. I feel like there's nowhere near as much life in their music anymore. Maybe it's that they can afford decent production or that they're Triple J darlings, but I just can't connect anymore.
Still, I'll always have this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6velhq6o2Q0
| | | Album Rating: 3.0
I think over-hype (or even becoming successful) can sometimes do that I guess. It's nothing super tangible, but it's something.
They're supposed to have a killer live show, but that could once more be over-hype. Thought they may have been a chance for the Big Day Out actually & would have checked them out if they were there. But on the back of this album, I won't be hunting them down for a show of their own.
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Also, I want them to be Dappled Cities Fly again.
| | | Album Rating: 3.0
No, this is a more streamlined outfit now & the name simply had to follow. Give it a few more years & they'll be called Dappies.
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