Gus Dapperton: High-Water Pants and Teal Colored Bowl Cuts

The Warwick, New York native began his official sophomore tour last month, bringing dreamy, ethereal sounds across America. Born Brendan Rice, Gus Dapperton prides himself on being unapologetically himself, looking to Morrissey and David Bowie as inspiration. His brand is only complete with a sparkling teal bowl cut, pearl earring in his ear and precisely curated pastel colored women’s clothes.

Photo Courtesy of gusdapperton.com

In a world where image is everything, society and Dapperton are pushing for change. Although his image is intentional and oftentimes perfectly coordinated, his bedroom-pop, indie dreamscape sound allows his raw and unfiltered talents to effortlessly pour through, regardless of his appearance.

His newest release, World Class Cinemas made its debut on Apple Music and Spotify this morning with its complementary music video. The videos, which are pastel-heavy works of art in their own aspect are an obvious tribute to a simpler time.

The World Class Cinemas video tells the tale of Gus, who plays himself, wanting to move from doing music to film. He dances freely throwing his hands in the air through a movie set in high waisted red trousers and a wife-beater tee. We see him as James Bond, a scientist and someone who is almost hit in the head with a stage light, a subtle tribute to the 1998 film, The Truman Show. The song has hints of 80’s pop inspiration with a steady beat and Dapperton’s raspy, whispering tone.

Prune, You Talk Funny, which was released in 2017 and started the ongoing conversation of this up-and-coming artist to watch, opens with our protagonist, Gus running down the middle of a country road at sunset in his boxers, strumming the melody on his pastel blue Stratocaster as an old man chases him.

Since that, his discography includes Yellow and Such (2017), You Think You’re a Comic! (2018) with a couple of singles and appearances on shows like 13 Reasons Why. His music videos perfectly contrast the songwriters emotionally charged and often comically written songs like Miss Glum and the Pursuit of Falling.

His sounds are smooth and effortless. Fluid drums and eccentric accents in between guitar riffs on a pastel blue Strat. The outfits and inspirational uses of patterns and colors are beautiful. And of course the bowl cut is, well, bold. The live act? I’ll be testing those waters next week as he performs live at The Subterranean in Chicago, IL.

xoxo,

s

Samantha Miller (@samantharachelmiller) is a freelance writer from Chicago. She prides herself on her occasional wit, her keen eye for design and her undying love for iced almond milk lattes.

Follow Samantha Miller's work on Linkedin, and sign up for updates on her blog.