Cassette Review: Dragon Rapide "See The Big Picture" (Freemount Records)

With the amount of recorded music which exists in the world, it could be nearly impossible to accurately describe something such as Dragon Rapide.   Even if you can slowly dissect these songs to pull out influences here and there which might be known on a larger level, the fact is that Dragon Rapide offers their own unique take on this style of rock n roll, never trying to imitate their favorite artists but perhaps letting a glimpse of them sneak out in their more vulnerable moments.

Right away, the fuzzy and dreamy rock of Dragon Rapide could be compared to a mixture of Superdrag and Weezer.   It's rock, but it's also a little bit funky.    There are aspects comparable with Wheatus but also with EFS.   So if you can imagine these two different sounds merging to form something new, but then do that several times over and you can have a slight idea of what this sounds like.  (Sort of Superdrag + sort of Weezer meets sort of Wheatus + sort of EFS... and there are others as well)

While it has these elements of the movie "That Thing You Do!", which I always go back to when I think of that rock band trying to score that big single, back when records were only one or two songs, there is also this Buddy Holly and Mr T Experience quality to it as well.  (Particularly the "Alcatraz" era of MTX)   As much as you want to pin it down to that soundtrack though, there is also this dose of a band such as The Replacements, which also gives it that MPLS vibe which would be another soundtrack entirely.

Dragon Rapide aren't afraid to throw in some keys or get a little bit of that twang, but the best way to really describe them is as being a combination of two different elements combined to form one new element and then a combination of those elements plus something extra that only they can bring.   It might sound more complex than what it is, but this will likely leave you thinking "This sounds kind of like that one band but not".   A lot of it likely will have to do with your influences in music.   But it is a solid rock n roll cassette and the world needs more of them.


€6 //
Edition of 50 //
https://freemountrecords.bandcamp.com/album/see-the-big-picture //