THE YOUNG LIBERAL- ALBUM REVIEW I have followed these guys for the last couple of years now and they never seem to disappoint. For those not familiar with City of Souls... have you been living in some rock free soundless hole??
I received the advanced copy of their album a few weeks ago and truth be told, spent the evening hungrily pouring over every note. This tends to be my pattern with new music... I obsessively play it and if my ears aren’t bleeding by day three, it must be a good.
The thing I love about City of Souls is their ability to transform you to another place and with their opening track Brush Strokes, the boys once again delivered.
Richie Simpson’s lead vocals paired with the amazing wailing guitars of the bands line up -Marcus Powell (Blindspot, Blacklist), Steve Boag (In Dead Response, Blacklist) and Trajan Schwencke (In Dead Response) along with Corey Friedlander on drums create a wall of sound like nothing else. Something about the harmonies they each create, sends chills down the spine. I sit transfixed in a place of eerie yet comforting darkness.
The album progresses into grittier tracks such as Ferryman. Captivated, I hear whispers of influences like Bowie, Manson, Live and many more, with almost middle eastern wobbles from the guitars. It’s one of those albums that is so well balanced, its undeniable these lads are set to take not just New Zealand by storm but the rest of the world!
Their brand of authentic sound reeks of a group that not only knows their craft well but as any good group of artists, devote their abilities to deeper undertones of intellectual meaning. Their songs resonating with a generation of lost souls desperate for connection. Simpson’s smooth brassy tones seeming almost ancient in quality - calling, comforting, understanding.
With lyrics like “lay down beneath your weary hands, running from the whispers in your head, so long, release my yearning friend, running from the whispers in your head...” “burying your cheek, dig in with your heals, resolute your blackening, never to shine for another... nothing changes around you, nothing left but all your fears” they seem to speak to issues surrounding depression and breaking free of those cycles, those dark inner demons that we all battle with.
A truly brave new breed of rock star seems to be emerging. Ones that are conscious of the voice they project and the good those voices can do.
With the album set to drop very shortly, I am on the edge of my seat to see how NZ responds. I am sure its set to be one of the albums of the summer and can’t wait to hear how the boys will evolve their sound in the future. VNZMA on the cards soon lads? Then the Grammy’s, maybe an Oscar or two thrown in for good measure!!!