CITY AND COLOUR
If I Should Go Before You
(Dine Alone Records)
When Dallas Green accepted his SOCAN award this May at Toronto’s Harbour Castle Convention Centre, he thanked everyone who had supported him and then he thanked everyone who didn’t support him, admitting that his music is “an acquired taste”
Maybe so, but enough people have acquired that taste and supported his four previous City And Colour releases which have all chalked up platinum + sales figures – and there is no doubt his `If I Should Go Before You’ new release will rapidly follow suit.
It is true there is nothing overwrought about Green’s music, it’s based on simplistic, folky, acoustic-based compositions, yet the guy is such a great lyricist and
performer that even his most simplistic songs are compelling to listen to. The 11 tracks featured on `If I Should Go Before You” continue his winning formula, the outstanding cuts centred around an infectious groove be it the atmospheric arrangement featured on “Woman”, the jazzy instrumental inflections of “Killing Time, the country stylings on “Friends” and the bluesy groove of the title track. Green continues to conjure up colourful, lyrical vignettes set off by clean and concise layers of instrumental precision and topped off by his signature vocal style- which yes, may be an acquired taste but an effective one nonetheless.
Top two tracks here are “Wasted Love” an up tempo, poppy number with an engaging lyrical hook and the album’s final track; “Blood”, a folky, sparsely arranged track that summarizes all of Green’s creative qualities.
At a time when many current trends focus on style over substance, Green continues to prove to a global audience that sheer simplicity can also pay dividends
Download: “Blood”, “Wasted Love” “If I Should Go Before You”
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