By Natalie Salvo
deerRepublic are a Sydney-based quartet who produce richly textured, indie pop music. It’s an effervescent sound that has seen the boys being crowned winners of the uncharTED band competition and playing amazing gigs like Splendour In The Grass. But for my money, this group sound like they’re just picking up from where Red Riders left off.
The Sweet Resistance is the band’s debut EP where the four tracks on offer have a common thread in that the glass is always half full. The group are on a constant pursuit for the next form of happiness and the soundtrack comes via some guitar-driven songs that you can also dance along to with glee.
Opening track, “Young Reverie” is a big pop number that commands your attention in much the same way as a Coldplay anthem. It’s about the guys sharing their youthful exuberance over the course of a big night, perhaps even bottling these flavours into some kind of sugary cola (and if it had to be a colour would be rainbow). At times you can even hear a similarity to some of the things Tigertown have recently put out, but there is also the added bonus of the ringing chime of what sounds like Christmas bells signalling some good times and a party ahead.
The first single the band released from this EP was “The Score”. This came out earlier this year and actually shares a fair bit in common with producer, Jean-Paul Fung’s previous work with Last Dinosaurs. That’s because this is a tale of persistence which also sounds like an indie pop tune that is being delivered straight from a beach near you. It’s an optimistic track which proves a good warm-up to the soaring Strokes-like beat of the following, “Sometimes”.
deerRepublic may be a young band but they certainly know their way around a good hook and lots of different melodies. They combine these with great rhythms and other textures to produce something that is cheery and catchy, with the odd retro twist thrown in for good measure. It’s all very light and bubbly and while it’s not the most original sound, it certainly is among some of the most fun to sing-along and dance to from the latest crop. So all that’s left to say really, is to stay tuned…
