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 |  City And ColourSometimes Dine Alone/Shock According to the press release that was attached to this CD, Dallas Green (aka the guy from Alexisonfire that sings the quiet bits) has spent over a decade writing the ten acoustic tracks now released under the moniker City And Colour. That's a long time, and as such you'd hope that 'Sometimes' would be full of not only Green's beautifully soft voice but a wealth of depth and diversity in the songs. Unfortunately, it's not so. City And Colour isn't as emo as you'd think either. Lightly strummed chords underpin some rootsy acoustic guitar lines, as the odd bit of lilting piano (is there any other kind?) bounces off Green's reverb-heavy vocals, resulting in a record that sounds as much like Damien Rice as it does Dashboard Confessional. However, City And Colour lacks the musical richness of the former, and the raw, unbridled passion of the latter. The 'not-so-loud' disc from the last Foo Fighters' record 'In Your Honor' proved that a huge range of dynamics can be achieved while remaining acoustic across a whole disc, but all the tracks here sit at the same slow and ponderous tempo and the same introspective intensity. Green fails to create much dynamic within each song, let alone between them, and herein lies his main failing: he just does the same thing over and over, and despite his great voice and gentle melodies gradually becoming more endearing over repeated listens, there isn't any particular quality that elevates the disc enough to warrant excitement. Casey's Song is the album's obvious highlight, as Green ups the tempo and emotional intensity, plus a brooding, bass-heavy bridge that is truly affecting. Unfortunately, the rest of 'Sometimes' is too pleasant for a real reaction.  | |
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