Dorsal Fins are in their element on ‘Sedated’, putting the “fun” in “funky”.
This is busy and vibrant music, brought to life through their signature warping, psychedelic synths mashed with a bit of saxophone and lazy guitars. With a total of nine talented and experienced members making up the band, it’s no wonder they are able to create such a beautiful variety of sounds.
Jarrad Brown’s slacker vocals plus the phone-call interlude top this track off for me:
“Yeah, what?”
“You called me.”
“Nah I didn’t.”
“Pretty sure you did.”
“I’m gonna hang up.”
Just a random piece of butt-dial magic.
While originally Dorsal Fins was meant to be a recorded side-project for Liam McGorry with his best friends, a song like ‘Sedated’ (as well as a lot of their previous tracks) feels like it’s designed for the stage. And this is why they are such a coveted live act locally.
Brown’s description of creating ‘Sedated’ is much in-line with how I feel when I listen to it, “When the sun slinks way too low, and the stars forget to shine, and you need a cryogenic sleep chamber to knock you out and wake up somewhere a 1000 years in the future… you write a song like Sedated.. and then you feel better.”
THE BREAKDOWN:
Based in: Melbourne, Australia.
Upcoming album: Digital Zodiac, out October via Dot Dash / Remote Control.
Sounds like: Saskwatch, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, The Cat Empire.
Say what? Chances are you know about it, but if not, Dorsal Fins’ cover of Kate Cebrano’s ‘Pash’ is a must-see Like A Version.