The Leeds Gig Guide

Band Biography for invisible cities:

Invisible Cities are four friends operating bass, drums, guitar, viola, and sometimes a keyboard. No member has yet volunteered as vocalist. They have spent the last three and a bit years experimenting with overcomplicating things, speeding up, slowing down, falling in and out of love with loop pedals, unnecessary time changes, repetition, neoclassical bobbins, breaking it down, awkward banter, bringing the beat back in, soundtracking a short film, beards, playing the same thing at different times, and different things at the same time, contemporary dancers, and tunes. Recently they appear to have settled on something a little bit technical, a little bit danceable, and a little bit beautiful. Only one of their songs has a designated post-rock bit.

Invisible Cities have occasionally been glanced at by journalists, who dubbed them “undoubtedly good” (Drowned in Sound) and “nice in places” (Vibrations).

In December 2009, Vibrations magazine wrote that “Invisible Cities seek to marry the structural complexity of Battles with the emotional resonance achieved by instrumental rock trailblazers Do Make Say Think and Dirty Three. Their songs have a tendency to feel fragmented – as if the four members were straining against one another in search of moments of individual brilliance – but when these efforts resolve into a cohesive whole the results are stunning.”

In September 2010, Leeds Guide spoke of “a group who are not afraid to throw together opposing, potentially clashing influences. The crux of their sound is the layering of the viola over itself, cutting through some actually quite funky basslines and subtle tingling beats. Like all good instrumentalist groups, you’re captivated by the intricacies of the arrangements and moved by the swell of each piece.”

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