photo credit : Clara de Latour
Dog Park is a dream pop band based in Paris, France, a city where people really love their dogs, like Portland. Sometimes, it takes a series of coincidences for four individuals to meet and become a band. Erica is American, Isabella is Brazilian, and Sarah and Jean are from Paris. After they first met at a concert in Paris in 2021 between lockdowns, they quickly began creating and composing together.
Because they are all multi-instrumentalists and embrace spontaneity, they naturally play musical chairs as part of their composition process. This is what makes their quartet unique: instruments and microphones change hands from one track to the next.
A particularly surprising and impressive dance to observe during their live performance. Despite having released only two singles in the fall of 2022 and spring of 2023, Dog Park has secured stages such as La Boule Noire or the Auditorium of the Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris, as well as several summer festivals across France.
Because roles change, there’s no leader or designated composer in the band. Each member contributes with fragments of songs that are then worked on together. This is apparent on their debut album, Festina Lente, consisting of ten tracks with diverse styles and moods. Erica’s vocals, with her distinct voice, are inclined towards twee or dream pop, often accompanied by an energetic beat. Sarah’s deep tone, flirting with grunge, harmonizes with the darker tracks. Isabella’s jazz-infused moments brings a sense of calm.
Jean’s unique guitar and jangly playing style reveal Dog Park’s primary influences – Real Estate, Kacey Johansing and the early 2010s Captured Tracks releases, including Veronica Falls and Beach Fossils. These bands are inescapable formations in the indie pop scene, and with them, Dog Park shares irresistible melodies, deliberately lo-fi sonic aesthetics, and a profound sense of melancholy.
https://www.facebook.com/dogparkmusique
