Wacky indie rockers DAPPLED CITIES are back home in Sydney after spending much of the last couple of years in the states. Guitarist/vocalist DAVE RENNICK shares some of the fun times they had and blurts some hot goss to RICHARD MACFARLANE about what’s next for the future.

In 2006 when Sydney faves Dappled Cities returned from their first jaunt in the states at SXSW their drummer Hugh was telling me how they ended up staying and chillin’ with Kelly Osbourne. This seemed pretty weird to me at the time but then I realised it makes perfect sense; chicks love those skinny indie sort of guys in bands, especially if they’re all exotic and Australian. Also, Dappled Cities are like, super famous celebs over there now anyway. Nah, not really but their American travels and gigs have gone terrifically, earning them much appreciation from fans and critics.

“We played the last two SXSW and came back home and then moved there with the objective of touring the album Granddance. We were based over there so we could tour. It had been pretty much everything we’d hoped, it was fantastic. Obviously when you embark on such a big journey and you’re a band like us, you kind of have this big expectation that it’s going to be the silver bullet and your going to be HUGE. It never works out that way and thank god, actually. Its been much more adventurous then your just achieving little things. Each year is better than the next. It makes us content, breaking into America and playing to a large amount of indie kids in various cities is incredibly rewarding”.

And yes, it has been as much fun as you’d imagine. They don’t have to drive their tour van anymore, either, which helps. They’re best mates and after developing a pretty massive fan base in Sydney, Dappled are excited to return home to play shows with their old friends and record, too. Dave is excited about recording in NSW and they’ve changed their approach to this somewhat in their time in the states, now preferring a live approach to studio work.

“One thing we took away was how awesome it is to record when you’re all in the same room all jamming out and the energy that’s involved, so that’s how we’re going to approach this forthcoming album”.

If Dappled Cities have an Australian sound then it comes through their uniqueness; grandiose indie rock numbers with falsetto vocals, lush guitar sounds, odd changes in tempo. It’s a wonderfully skewed pop sound, and live, theirs is a very entertaining energy. It’ll be interesting to see how the forthcoming record sounds considering their return to the comforts of home.

“Songwriting is a really instinctive process. To a large extent it’s very uncalculated for us, so obviously if you’re sitting in an apartment in New York over looking the East Village, you’re going to have a slightly different mojo operating. It acts as a bit of a muse for writing songs, for sure. We plan on spending the longest amount of time we’ve ever spent on anything on this record. We’re really going to nut it out and make sure it’s the best thing in the entire world. Well, that’s the plan, at least.”

DAPPLED CITIES play The Zoo Saturday Feb16 with Bluejuice and The Seabellies.

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