Send "Dappled Cities " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Sputnikmusic |
 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....full text |
| Popmatters |
| “It’s our dark album,” vocalist Dave Rennick said to me of Zounds. The Sydney group’s third LP does find Dappled Cities in more of a bombastic mood than on either A Smile or Granddance, their previous, determinedly upbeat albums. But Dappled Cities being a band for whom craft is just a means to lead us forward in raucous celebration, the ‘darkness’ is a new timbre that cloaks a familiar purpose. Despite both their considerable musical gifts and a constantly-touring work ethic, Dappled Cities hasn’t taken off in any big way overseas. That is a shame, because their incredibly loyal Aussie following isn’t for nothing. The local music blog community, in particular, have been really enthusiastic in supporting the band’s exuberant, stylish music. A collation of blogger favourites curated by what is probably Australia’s most widely read blog, a-reminder, placed Dappled Cities at #4 in their best Aussie band list last year, despite the group not releasing an album (in 2006, when they did, they were #1). What happened then is all too familiar. A batch of good-but-not-rave reviews (with a few disappointed ones, too), and the world’s biggest music market quickly tripped toward some other exciting newcomer. That was two years ago, and in the meantime Dappled Cities have consolidated and expanded their ambitions. Recently, when they were invited to cover a song for national radio, the group chose “My Girls” by Animal Collective, and turned out a simple, lovely cover that breaks the song down to its component parts. But it’s simplistic to make that obvious comparison, DC = AC. While there were some initial similarities – a jangly sensibility, the occasional shriek, an adventurous attitude towards song structure – Dappled Cities has moved towards a fuller, more conventional indie rock palette. If the group were to select an artist to cover that more neatly encapsulates its new outlook it would have to be Sunset Rubdown (or anything by Spencer Krug, really). Songs like “Apart” and “Hold Your Back” share Krug’s grand conception of The Song, buoyed by A sections and B sections, and built of layers of synths and sprung percussion....full text |
| Thevine |
| Trying to dissect Dappled Cities is a bit like trying to pin down a mirage. On the one hand, the Sydney band has some very identifiable characteristics: Flaming Lips-worthy psychedelia, ’80s-style synth-pop, and chipper post/disco-punk (cue the hi-hats). On the other hands, no one else really sounds like them, and their albums are so soupy with effects that it’s easy to get lost in the mirror maze of it all. Following 2006’s sophomore effort, Granddance, which saw the five-piece focus more on a shot at success in the States, the long-gestating Zounds is similarly likeable yet unwieldy. Perhaps the best guide through the album’s twists and turns is new recruit Allan Kumpulainen (replacing exiting founding member Hugh Boyce), whose shifty, streaming drum work commands as much attention as the helium vocals and cosmic synths once you hone in on it. In fact, his twitchy presence is one of the first things we hear on Zounds as it weaves beneath opener ‘Hold Your Back’. The song builds from there with Alex Moore’s bass, Ned Cooke’s keys, and the pillow-y voices of guitarist Tim Derricourt and guitarist/keyboardist Dave Rennick. It also establishes a loose pattern for the rest of the record; sparkling effects, ’80s tinges to the guitar and bass lines, and vocals that swing between smarmy and dramatic, depending on who’s singing....full text |
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