Dick Diver review – beloved ‘dolewave’ band’s one-off reunion brings out Melbourne for four magical shows
Thornbury Theatre, MelbourneIt has been 10 years since their last album but you’d be forgiven for forgetting any time had passed at all – they sound as tight as everDick Diver embodies a time that is both long gone and ever-present. They may have never been a household name but the Melbourne quartet, or what they represent, are a part of the national cultural fabric. Their lackadaisical affect belies the seriousness and sophistication of both their musicality and lyrics, which are unpretentiously and undeniably Australian.The band combine the slacker vibes of Pavement with the bookish lyricism (they take their name from a character in an F Scott Fitzgerald novel) and jangly “striped sunlight sound” of the Go-Betweens. Releasing three albums and an EP between 2009 and 2015 through the celebrated Melbourne indie label Chapter Music, Dick Diver’s encapsulation of millennial malaise under capitalism made them the unwitting leaders of a genre jokingly nicknamed “dolewave”. The band, and much of the underground music press, bristled but the moniker nonetheless expressed something true: this was the music of the everyman, suburban poetics for the struggles and quiet joys of daily living.Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning Continue reading...
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Thornbury Theatre, Melbourne
It has been 10 years since their last album but you’d be forgiven for forgetting any time had passed at all – they sound as tight as ever
Dick Diver embodies a time that is both long gone and ever-present. They may have never been a household name but the Melbourne quartet, or what they represent, are a part of the national cultural fabric. Their lackadaisical affect belies the seriousness and sophistication of both their musicality and lyrics, which are unpretentiously and undeniably Australian.
The band combine the slacker vibes of Pavement with the bookish lyricism (they take their name from a character in an F Scott Fitzgerald novel) and jangly “striped sunlight sound” of the Go-Betweens. Releasing three albums and an EP between 2009 and 2015 through the celebrated Melbourne indie label Chapter Music, Dick Diver’s encapsulation of millennial malaise under capitalism made them the unwitting leaders of a genre jokingly nicknamed “dolewave”. The band, and much of the underground music press, bristled but the moniker nonetheless expressed something true: this was the music of the everyman, suburban poetics for the struggles and quiet joys of daily living.
Continue reading...
