Dappled Cities/ Zounds

Dappled Cities
Zounds
(Dangerbird Records / Essential Music)

The latest great Australian hopes, Dappled Cities, finally make it to the UK having picked up a rather fine collection of plaudits, both at home and in the States – where they’ve been based for the last year.
So, has living in America rubbed-off on them? Well, I’m not too sure how they sounded before their state-side stint, but a few US references spring to mind with each song: ‘Answer is Zero’ (Fleet Foxes meets MGMT) ‘The Price’ (Cold War Kids being chased out of town by Modest Mouse) and so on.
‘Zounds’ is all very glossy thanks largely to the production of Chris Coady (TV On The Radio) and the arrangements of Justin Meldal-Johnson (NIN, Beck). It’s a charismatic record which lacks ground-breaking or gob-smacking ideas, but it does have a personality which infects you a little more with each listen.