Dappled Cities @ Newtown Social Club, 5th February ’16

Quite some time has passed since Sydney’s own Dappled Cities graced the stage, so it came as no suprise this Friday evening’s return from hibernation was greeted with a full house.

A buzz of expectation filled the room, with the show being fans initial glimpse of new material destined to emerge on the band’s forthcoming as yet untitled release.

Hiatus or not, Tim Derricourt’s cheekiness has not abated as he welcomes us to the band’s “garage sale” and refers to the gig as an excuse to “get rid of lots of shit”, referring to the expansive merch stand left of stage, where where a variety of recently excavated product was ripe for the plucking.

Whilst tonight’s set was about promoting new material, the band also propped up the set with a healthy dose of offerings from 2012’s Lake Air. ‘Run With The Wind’ and ‘The Leopard’ are delivered early with ‘Born At The Right Time’ and ‘The Weekend’ making appearances as the set progressed.

First impressions of the new songs certainly enhance the “dream pop” tag the band has acquired. Predominantly ambient and hynotising with the odd moment of jagged dischord, a hint of 80s influence has manouvred it’s way into the sound. This is due more than partially to keyboardist Ned Cooke’s hooks, which now appear integral to the Dappled Cities sound.

From a visual perspective, the interplay between Tim Derricourt and Dave Rennick is constantly engaging and it is clear to see that all these years down the track the band is deriving as much pleasure from performing as they did in the early days.

As far as garage sales go, this was one of the more entertaining ones one could hope to attend. Along with the successful clearing out of “shit”, there also happened to be some pretty decent music.

Photos: Benon Julius William Otto Koebsch

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Gavin Stocker

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Outside of Across The Ocean Gavin Stocker writes, records and performs music under the moniker of P Truck.

He can also be found clinging to his youth on a skateboard or wandering aimlessly through the bush.