SuppliedCity and Colour
If I Should Go Before You
Dine Alone Records
cityandcolour.com
If you listened to City and Colour’s If I Should Go Before You expecting something similar to all other City and Colour albums, you wouldn’t be wrong, but you might be pleasantly surprised. The new album boasts eleven gorgeous tracks, each demonstrating an absolute break-through in the band’s already memorable sound. Perhaps most of the similarity between this album and his older stuff comes from Dallas Green’s distinct voice, but that’s about it. Listeners of If I Should
Go Before You are welcomed with the (unheard of in the world of City and Colour) nine-minute opener “Woman,” an ambient track featuring sounds of psychedelic and progressive rock and resounding guitar solos. Green continues to explore full-band sounds throughout the album, providing a seemingly more complex and buoyant track list than anything previously done by City and Colour.
One of the greatest surprises on If I Should Go Before You is middle track “Killing Time,” with guitar work that’s both funky and sporadic with smooth vocals that elegantly prove why Dallas Green is one of today’s favourite troubadours. The classic City and Colour acoustic sound hasn’t been dumped, but instead was completely expanded upon. Tunes like “If I Should Go Before You” and “Map Of the World” demonstrate Green’s decision to revamp the band’s sound, mixing the beloved City and Colour acoustics with full, dazzling changes—the refreshing richness and strangely upbeat tempo of the new tracks are only a couple of the deviations that Green made from some of his older work. Dallas Green has evidently been struck with inspiration, and City and Colour’s If I Should Go Before You successfully and brightly displays it.
