How do you make a band with a big sound come across as even bigger? Put them in a nearly empty room and leave your earplugs at home. I had a feeling Halloween night at the Mercury Lounge would be fairly quiet, but not this deserted. Readying myself for a possibly uneventful evening of music, my expectations started out at a low point. Walking in a few moments into Dappled Cities’ first song, these doubts quickly vanished.
Their thunderous sound is just dark enough to make you quiver while still managing to shine at all the right moments (and it wasn’t just the glow sticks and tin foil they had adorned themselves with). This is a band that knows how to create a definite mood, even if that mood is nameless. It’s that unidentifiable something that draws you in; I found myself taking small steps towards the stage with every passing note.
Armed with two vocalists and a deep sense of song craft, Dappled Cities fires a straight shot to your insides. While a general sense of grandiose prevails through the majority of their songs, the band strikes that coveted balance of eruption and restraint, an often-sought trait that is rarely this neatly executed. I’m not sure I can think of a band with dual singers that serve as such great counterpoints. Trembling falsetto and some Bowie theatrics coupled with a more hushed introspective howl.
Partly thanks to a talented drummer, the songs maintain their shape through the constant tempo changes. Just when it seems the song is about to wrap up, someone pulls the trigger and the group is off to the races. After a brief math rock freak out we’re brought back to solid ground by some guttural staccato yelps a la Animal Collective.
Sure, there are moments when the choral flourishes kick in, the song starts to gallop, and you can’t help but think of Arcade Fire. There are other times when the thought of Muse isn’t so ridiculous either. This band makes me think of countless bands to reference, but the bottom line is Dappled Cities has something of its’ own going on, and they inhabit whatever it is with a strangely youthful expertise. This something isn’t necessarily groundbreaking or new, but it may just get to you. No doubt this band is young. They still have a whole lot to figure out, but they’re making a damn good effort.
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