‘Midnight Zoo’: DICE’s much anticipated debut delivers

By JAMES BALE

The Perth-based four-piece, DICE, have spent the past 3 years making a name for themselves, becoming a staple on Triple J Unearthed and selling out shows across WA.

They are notable for their lively, often heavy indie tracks that take inspiration from the likes of The Strokes, Arctic Monkeys and The Rubens.  After two EP releases and a cover of Gloria Gaynor’s I Will Survive on Triple J’s Like a Version, they have released their debut album Midnight Zoo.

Midnight Zoo has been much anticipated by fans who have followed the band closely over the past 2 to 3 years including previously released singles such as Quick to Judge and This is Not a Love Song but has many new songs that showcase their potential for commercial success.  Each track has that distinctive Indie rock sound, including vocalist Ben Hodge’s durable alto singing style that can have not only that light rhymical style but also that heavy and roaring style, that is present in both the guitar-based tracks as well as the two ballads.

A common occurrence on many of the tracks is guitarist Tom King’s use of looping.  As the only guitarist in the band, he manages to play both the chord progression and the riff. King was able to do the Indie playing style justice with fast and wiry riffs, alongside a groovy bass line from Regan Beazley heard in tracks such as Sunrise and Oh Dreamer, where riffs that use the flanger effect to create a rough and sometimes spacey tone. However, the guitar solos throughout the album felt uninspired, playing singular notes off the pentatonic scale or simply repeating the vocal progression.

The two ballads of the album Someday and Storms are pleasant listens, but their short 2-minute runtimes prevent them from achieving greatness. Both songs incorporate a string ensemble and a slow, yet heavy drum beat from Sam Barrett-Lennard.

Someday pays homage to the Strokes by incorpating organ-style keys often played by Julian Casablancas, whilst Storms takes a more traditional approach using a piano and a more soaring singing style. For a closing track, though, it’s a bit weak considering the aforementioned duration and abrupt ending, making for an anti-climactic finish.

Yet overall, DICE have produced an ideal debut album for any band, establishing a distinct sound for themselves and showcasing their musical range from upbeat Indie to hard rock and ballads.

DICE will be performing at the Factory Theatre on September 28 to celebrate the album release.