Gus Dapperton’s sophomore album, Orca, is a soft melodic with occasional alternative rock flair album that doesn’t quite hit the punches.
Dapperton uses a mix of synths and classical instruments that combine into a ten-record soft pop album with a slight edge. Guitars, pianos, and synths are the instruments that shine with each song. Some of the beats and melodies on this album are easy to vibe to.
Dapperton’s voice is a strange, but pleasant, mix of alternative rock and pop artists sound to it. During Swan Song and Post Humorous, Dapperton shows his range that has a raspy element to it when he hits high notes.
The song that shines on the album is Palms. The start of the song has a soft melodic guitar before a bass drum revealing itself with the beat, building up as it goes. It is definitely a track that you can easily groove to and sway with.
Orca does seem to drag due to some of the poorly executed beginnings to the songs. One that comes to mind is First Aid, which just a slow guitar melody paired with Dapperton’s mumble singing it. Due to these slow beginnings or sloppy executions, I tended to get bored with the track before it picked up.
Dapperton’s vocals also seem to get lost within some of the tracks. Some of this is due to him trying to pull off this moody alternative style mumble singing. The loud melodies themselves seem to choke his ability to sing and really don’t allow him to shine.
Gus Dapperton brings to the table a rough around the edges sound for a soft pop album. Audiences who might like a softer version of Hippo Campus or The Backseat Lovers might enjoy this album. It also might be worth a listen if you are into a more edgy pop/alternative album that is easy to chill to.
I enjoyed listening to it once or twice, but it wasn’t entirely my cup of tea. I would recommend giving at least a couple tracks a play.
Gus Dapperton’s Orca gets a 6/10 killer whales at a moody alternative pop coffee shop.
Having you review someone you’re not familiar with, and/or a style you don’t care for, may have cramped your style.
I find “if you like this you may also like X” style comparisons. But how do you know what/who readers will be familiar with? Does it matter?
…Orca, is a soft, melodic–with–occasional–alternative–rock–flair album… I don’t know how else to punctuate that sentence.