4 stars out of 5
The band City and Colour has released a new album that brings a returning Canadian musician back on the charts. With his charm, soothing voice, and unique sound, Dallas Green, otherwise known as City and Colour, does not go unnoticed with this popular indie album.
“A Pill for Loneliness” is City and Colour’s sixth album, and was released on Oct. 4. Since his last album, “If I Should Go Before You,” which came out in 2015, fans have eagerly awaited City and Colour’s return. Dallas Green was also a part of the music group Alexisonfire when he started making his own music under the name City and Colour. The 40-year-old Canadian musician has a unique sound and plays a mixture of rock, folk, alternative and acoustic.
“A Pill for Loneliness” was everything that was expected and more from this talented musician. Dallas Green uses this space to show his audience the struggles he has faced throughout his life. His songs feature an array of emotions surrounding the feelings of loneliness and isolation that the singer has felt, and he uses the album to tell the story of separating himself from his family and friends in order to do what he thinks is right. Many of the songs on the album also speak about the injustices done to our planet and what is left of it, and he asks us who will be here to pick up the pieces of the world that other people have destroyed. Overall, the melancholy tone of the album reflects the discussion of many serious topics, but the album also offers hope and optimism for the future in relation to our planet and what we can do for it.
The first song in the album, “Living for Lighting,” is one of the shortest of the 11 tracks included, but one of the most memorable. The song sets the tone for the rest of the album and introduces philosophical ideas and lyrics that are rather complex for City and Colour. He uses this track to help listeners understand how he feels walking through this life and trying his best to make it a great one.
The song “Astronauts,” released to the public on June 3, was the first one released to the public to give fans a taste of what the upcoming album would sound like. It reflects the mixture of genres that the album includes as a whole, and can’t be pinned down to one specific kind of sound. Green is a talented singer and has a lyrical ability that is very similar to other indie artists like Vance Joy and George Ezra, and that becomes especially apparent in this song.
“Strangers,” the eighth track on the album and second single released to the public, talks about humans being strangers in their own land and asking them if it is possible to “relearn how to live.” The longest song on the album, titled “The War Years,” spans six minutes and 37 seconds. Although lengthy, the song is relaxing and really captures the essence of what this album is about in one single song. There are so many different emotions expressed throughout this song, and you can tell that Green is so passionate about the Earth and his family and is using his music to help get himself through a hard time.
The album cover reflects the colorful and artistic elements that are present throughout this unique album. Green’s profile is surrounded by an array of watercolors and a halo of green and orange surrounding his head. Although I would have preferred a darker, more abstract cover that reflected his own dark feelings, his cover does the album justice.
“A Pill for Loneliness” is thoroughly enjoyable, and Green has the opportunity to make the indie genre more widespread and well known if he continues to produce music. If you are looking to stretch your music taste into the world of folk and indie, City and Colour is a great starting point.