The abrupt success of DMA’s, including their surprise signing with I OH YOU and the media circus that followed, has turned out to be quite the catch-22 for the Sydney band.
On the one hand, DMA’s have sold
out shows in nearly every state on their first Australian tour, however, the
band have also had to try and meet high expectations to justify all the hype.
Luckily for DMA’s and for the many people who scrambled to buy tickets when
their first few gigs sold out, the band demonstrated plenty of talent and
professionalism at their Brisbane show.
Whilst DMA’s proved their worth
with a boisterous performance and a tight set, the amount of hype surrounding
the band still felt a little dubious. Their britpop infused sunny rock n roll
sound is undeniably catchy, but it also felt a little underwhelming: nicely
assembled and performed, but hardly an innovative sound. Essentially, DMA’s
have the talent and the songs of a super talented Britpop tribute band.
With that said, what DMA’s have shown us is that they certainly have the
makings of something great; talent, vigour and the ability to write a really
nice pop song, which is exactly what will guarantee their success in the near
future.
Having only heard a handful of
songs from DMA’s first EP, it was great to hear a wider range of material that
really showcased the talent of the band, such as new tune Lay Down, which
featured an impressive double-guitar solo. It was also fantastic to hear the
songs truly brought to life in the live arena; the entire band commanded an
impressive stage presence, with a six-piece set-up that lent itself to a far
richer and denser sound. Their physical tribute to Britpop also did not go
unnoticed, with a united effort from the entire band to emulate their
influences: adorned in baggy sweaters and track jackets, but unfortunately no
bucket hats.
Upbeat tunes like Feels Like 37
were much more fleshed out when performed live, evoking some early Stone Roses
vibes. So too did set-closer Play It Out stir up some interesting
Madchester tones, as well as standing out as the band’s most interesting and
layered tune: soaked to the bone with reverb. Both tunes demonstrate a
fantastic mediation between melancholic emotion and momentous rhythm that helps
to slowly build up the songs’ underlying emotional layer until the final few
chords where it all comes together.
Your Low also stood out, even though it did feel a little like
a filler tune, lacking the emotional depth that defines the rest of DMA’s small
catalogue. What did make Your Low stand out was its wonderfully vibrant
guitar riff recalling something in-between Pulp and Blur, but without any underlying
socially relevant criticisms. With a catalogue of tunes that essentially follow
the same structure – moody melancholic vibe, repetitive lyrics and a
slow-building tempo that finally climaxes - DMA’s really needed a simple sunny
pop tune like Your Low to even out the set, and could even do with a few
more to fill in the gaps of what amounted to a fairly short-lived live show.
DMA’s demonstrate their main
strength with songs like The Plan and Delete, both of which
strike a deeper poignancy: the key to writing a memorable pop song. Whilst the
lyrics of most of DMA’s songs feel a little tired and juvenile as basic love
songs, the emotion behind the songs does not feel this way at all. Just like
Britpop bands like Oasis wrote wonderfully listenable pop tunes with little
depth but plenty of resonance, so too does DMA’s fit into this category. With
time the band may transcend this point and develop their sound into something
more mature, or they could end up in much the same dead-end stale state Oasis
found themselves in by the time their highly-anticipated third album was
released. However, considering DMA’s only have one EP and a one tour behind
them, it is far too early to be taking bets. If I had to, however, I would bet
this is a band that have a few more surprises in store.
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