Over the past few months, we’ve seen notable metalcore front men try their hand at quieter and gentler side projects, such as Keith Buckley and Josh Scogin, of Every Time I Die and The Chariot fame, respectively. But, if this is to become the new trend, we should give credit to City and Colour, the side project of Dallas (city) Green (colour, get it?), for spearheading such endeavors. Most famous for his work as the lead man in Canadian rock act Alexisonfire, Green is now making waves in the States with his solo work on his Vagrant-debut, folk-inspired Bring Me Your Love.
Already a star in Canada, his debut album, Sometimes, garnered a plethora of critical acclaim and awards from our northern brothers. While Sometimes wasn’t widely available in the U.S., it still made a modest splash with American fans. Now, with the backing of Vagrant, Bring Me Your Love is the first City And Colour album to be released on American soil and aims to be a big hit with many in the scene.
Produced by Dan Achen, Green incorporated more of a folk sound in the twelve tracks, using the occasional harmonica, banjo, and placing more drumming in this album than the last, on whose foundation was built around the acoustic guitar and piano.
Green starts off the album with “Forgive Me,” a short, vulnerable opener paced by the gentle plucks on the acoustic guitar. Green’s voice is a good as ever, beaming with honesty throughout. “Confession” carries a menacing tone throughout, with each strum of the guitar giving off a sound that reverberates through your body and your ears. “The Death Of Me” gives off a Wild West saloon type of sound, while the harmonica on “Body In A Box” pierces through you.
The Tragically Hip’s Gordon Downie lends his voice to “Sleeping Sickness,” which is beautifully carried by both men’s fine voices. “Waiting…,” the first single, is intricate, showing off a little piano while the cymbals clash to give the song personality. “The Girl”, which is nearly six minutes, is a sweet song that undergoes a complete tempo shift midway through. The closer, “As Much As I Ever Could,” begins with a beautiful harmony of “oooh’s” and transitions into naked guitar strums, and when carried by Green’s voice, the song takes you to a peaceful state of mind.
The reason it took me so long to write this review was because I felt such mixed emotions about it that I wouldn’t be able to write a fair and concise review. It had to sink in. Bring Me Your Love may come across as an unassuming record at first, but underneath is has great depth and perception. Lyrically, Green doesn’t write the most complex or philosophical lines, but what he does write are blunt, honest, and emotional words that are sure to cause some sort of reaction from the listener. This album is not a walk through memory lane while sitting on the front porch type of album, instead, Bring Me Your Love is an album that’ll evoke all kinds of different emotions in you. Bring Me Your Love brings even more than that, it brings out passion, honesty, and hard work. Kudos, Dallas Green, you have set the benchmark.