CULTURE - BUZZBOX- Sounds like...: Help isabelle define themselves

Dreaming Isabelle's gritty pop has been taking shape for a few years; prototyping began when the members were UVA students.

"We used to be a bar band doing the typical Corner crawl when we were younger," recalls guitarist Jon Thompson. And while singer Daniel Lipton is still finishing up as a fourth-year, the band has been moving into the downtown area lately– they'll release their debut album this week at Gravity Lounge, sandwiched between Colten Noakes and Osmotic.

The lineup has changed since their college days, with the assorted members bringing to the table a variety of musical influences– and abilities.

"If we keep getting better musicians, I'm going to have to step down," laughs Thompson. The most recent addition was bassist Harwell Gary, who joined just before UVA's Battle of the Bands back in February.

"All of us have come from different places; my personal influences were bluegrass, folk music, and growing up on Simon and Garfunkel. But then Daniel grew up in D.C., and Doermann in Cleveland, and Hart is classically trained," Thompson continues. So what's the common thread tying it all together? "We're all Beatles fans," he proposes.

Who isn't? But that's not the best point of reference; they come closest on "Fake Romance," a namesake of sorts for the band, but elsewhere they end up in the lighter side of modern rock, somewhere between Train and Counting Crows.

On the other hand, Thompson cautiously suggests a Springsteen aesthetic. Even he doesn't seem to have a handle on it just yet: "It's been fun to try to define this band's sound," he says. See if you can figure it out yourself, and suggest it to the band if you happen upon something particularly good. They need a catchy one-liner for the summer tour anyway.

Dreaming IsabellePublicity Photo

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