Reviewed on Friday February 5
Talented singing is always on the agenda at a Dappled Cities gig, and it ends up being the running theme throughout this Friday night at Newtown Social Club. Up first are youthful indie rock groovers, Phantastic Ferniture. There’s a small bunch of people at the back of the room who are clearly enjoying the show, but groupthink combined with the daunting empty space in front of the stage stops anyone from venturing forward.
This doesn’t stop the band and the strong, confident vox of lead singer Julia Jacklin. These guys give off an almost Jefferson Airplane vibe reminiscent of Stonefield. Not taking themselves too seriously, they end with a track called ‘Fuckin ‘N’ Rollin’ and then a version of Johnny Farnham’s ‘You’re The Voice’.
By the time hard rockers Hedge Fund take the stage, the room is full enough that punters are forced to actually occupy all the floor space. They deliver a high-energy set, again featuring some very strong vocals, this time from William Colvin. ‘Object Of My Affection’ is an object of this writer’s affection and the Hedge Fund highlight.
Finally it’s time for Dappled Cities, and the now-capacity venue is buzzing with excitement. “It’s been a long time”, says Tim Derricourt after their first song – a new one – and before leading into ‘The Leopard’. And it has. For well over a decade, Dappled Cities have sat in the background of the Sydney indie scene. They’ve been relatively inactive as a group since the release of Lake Air and the Many Roads B-sides album, and their crowd full of old-time fans. Derricourt even points out that he recognises some familiar faces from years of gigging.
Four new songs are played from their upcoming new record, tentatively titled Tough Boyz. “There isn’t a single song on this next record that sounds similar to anything on Lake Air,” Derricourt told the BRAG last week, and he was right. Though the album is slated as an electronic jam infused with the glory of the ’70s, there is really only such a retro vibe in one song. It’s damn good indie pop-rock though, and it’s great to know Dappled Cities are back and at it.
The rest of the setlist is pretty much just Lake Air (perhaps to contrast the new music), bar ‘Stepshadows’ and ‘The Price’ (Zounds) and ‘Many Roads’. It’s a tight performance and sounds great, but something’s missing. Sensing the unanimous disappointment in the crowd for having completely skipped out on (their best) Granddance and debut A Smile, they return to the stage to take a last request. One punter asks for Granddance in full, though ‘Holy Chord’ winds up being the crowd pick – except apparently Dave Rennick hates that song and wants to play ‘Cream’. Thankfully they settle for both – a sterling farewell for all as we await the release of album number five.
