by Meaghan Weiley (@weileycyrus)
Melbourne’s music scene traverses the city like the human nervous system, universally connected and pulsating with life. Dragoons are a product of example: a group of friends whose members occupy various bands, sharing in creative energy; united by a vision deeply rooted in community. They’ve built an identity that is as hardworking as it is prolific, something further extrapolated on their latest release Horrorscope.
It’s only the second release via Tiny Town Records, a label that gave us the extraordinary Legacy Project by Gamjee. It also makes sense that both bands share a connection, not only in Tiny Town but in shared members - a further example of the tight knit community in which the city’s bands operate.
Horrorscope runs at 22 minutes, packed with lush instrumentation. From lavish brass accompaniments to tight rhythm sections, it all culminates in three-parter ‘Horrorscope I, II, III’, the middle track of the trinity preaching for us to “take a risk and you will be rewarded”. It’s a tape that drifts sonically, from jazz to experimental rock. Jabs of post-punk and psych rock live in harmony with flutters of saxophone.
Dragoons claim they “know exactly what it means to be a Libra in the current state of the world”. An air sign all about action and ideas. Horrorscope’s freedom to explore these is one of its most endearing qualities, making it worth revisiting after the first listen.