Jan. 10, 2008
While the Sydney based indie rock band Dappled Cities may be preparing for a homeland invasion Down Under through February and March, these five personable lads dropped by our studios at the tailend of their extensive '07 U.S. tour to lay down three moving tracks from their fantastic new Dangerbird Records full length Granddance (the sweeping pop of "Fire Fire Fire," the percussion driven "Beach Song" and the dramatic, dare I say 'romantic,' title track). As a favor, they also worked up a strong version of "Peach," the opening track from their Australian debut A Smile. And considering that A Smile wasn't originally released outside of their Australian homeland, this comes as somewhat of a rare treat for us.
Despite the comparisons that have been made with greats such as The Flaming Lips, Arcade Fire, The Smiths, Grandaddy and even The Beach Boys, it's actually little more than critics grabbing for easy similarities and catch names rather than really digging in and exploring the uniqueness of this particular rock band. Perhaps it's also because all of these acts, including Dappled Cities, all have - in their own fashion - added a forward thinking sense of experimentation to their melody driven pop. But there's still something very different and fresh about their music that can't be easily pinpointed or pigeonholed, which I believe this particular session attests to.
While in the studio, the band performed these four tracks with a mix of good natured camaraderie and steadfast professionalism, but it wasn't until they finished the session that the real madness began. Retreating to studio owner Gordon's backyard the boys approached the tether ball with wide eyed amazement (obviously the first time they'd seen one in person), before pummeling the leather ball back and forth for quite some time amid flailing limbs and blasts of laughter. Immediately following, they tore off to the neighboring tree fort which they all gleefully scaled the rope ladder one by one to cram into the tiny house for a photo op. As different as their music and cultures may be, this just proved that with enough backyard games to play with they're just like any of the rest of us kids at heart. – Tony Bonyata
LISTEN TO THE SESSION
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Dappled Cities – Fire Fire Fire
Dappled Cities – Beach Song
Dappled Cities – Granddance
Dappled Cities – Peach
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VIDEO
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PHOTO GALLERY
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For more info on Dappled Cities go to:
http://www.dappledcitiesfly.com/
http://www.myspace.com/dappledcitiesfly
To purchase Dappled Cities CDs go to:
http://www.dangerbirdrecords.com/store
This Basement Tapes session was recorded at Woodland Audio/Video in Spring Grove, IL. Engineered and mixed by Mike Manthei. Video shot and produced by Gordon Rinda. Photos by Tony Bonyata.
For more info on Woodland Audio / Video go to: www.woodlandaudio.com |
