Dappled Cities Fly are a four-piece rock band from Sydney, Australia.
They have been likened to musicians including Pavement, the Flaming Lips, Sonic Youth, My Bloody Valentine, the Beach Boys, Crow and Mukaizake . The band once described their music as "experimental pop". Their guitar-based songs typically combine catchy melodies with the complex time signatures and tempo changes associated with post rock. Occasional falsetto vocals and the use of effects pedals (delay in particular) are also characteristic of their sound.
History
The band, originally called Periwinkle, came together in the suburbs and high schools of Sydney's leafy North Shore around 1997 when 15-year-olds Dave Rennick and Hugh Boyce were joined by Alex Moore and English-born Tim Derricourt.
The band played at various all ages shows and charity benefits until they reached legal age to play in the licensed venues which are the focus of Sydney's live rock scene. The band members moved to the inner suburbs of Sydney and after various name changes settled on "Dappled Cities Fly", chosen because its inappropriateness as a band name made them laugh at the time. Their frequent live shows drew a regular following of fans and the band became popular supporting international acts playing in Sydney.
The band also regularly headline their own shows, very often at the Hopetoun Hotel, with bills showcasing new and avant-garde groups (such as The New Aesthetic and When Yr Dead Yr Dead Forever) from the band's connections with various Sydney subcultures.
Dappled Cities Fly's several early single and EP releases were critically well received and played Australia-wide on various radio stations. Their first album, A Smile, after several years in the making, was released in late 2004 and featured as album of the week on radio stations FBi and JJJ, in most of the Sydney street press and in various other media. Sydney Morning Herald reviewer Bernard Zuel wrote of A Smile that it "weaves between lo-fi indie rock, oddly bent pop and a kind of big-emotion, big-gesture music that seems refracted through a vaguely hallucinogenic mirror". The band have made several extensive tours of Australia and toured New Zealand in 2004. They have enjoyed and helped foster the revival since 2000 of Sydney's live scene and the opening of several new venues.
Band Members
Discography
Albums
A Smile (2004)
EPs / singles
- "Cream" (2004)
- "Wimbo Park" (2004) - New Zealand release
- "Peach" (2004) - 200 copies only with pencil coloured covers
- "Dead Bodies Where Their Mouths Were" (2003) - live studio recording, handmade covers
- "Chameleon Girl" (2003) - with 6 b-sides
- "Be Engine/Sputnik" (2002) - double a-side
See also
External links
Audio
References
Zuel, Bernard (Dec. 22, 2004). Fly boys. Sydney Morning Herald (Metro supplement), p. 15