Gallantly Streaming: City And Colour's Fleshed Out Fourth Album

Click here to go to iTunes and stream City And Colour's The Hurry And The Harm.

I've never been that big a fan of Dallas Green's solo work. It's not that I was that big a fan of Alexisonfire's work, but more a case of finding City And Colour's albums to be overly dull thanks to the predominance of acoustic guitars and slow tempos. Over the course of three albums, though, Green has been slowly introducing more (pun intended) colour to his musical palette. Whether it's the weeping slide backdropping the title track, the stabbing organ-punctuated groove of Thirst or the light strings on Two Coins, it's clear that C&C has added some new machinery in his music factory.

On The Hurry And The Harm, the listener still gets a good dose of the acoustic ballads that enamored longtime fans to City And Colour in the first place. However, there's a surprising level of variety spread across the disc's dozen tracks. Most tracks on this album benefit from complimentary instrumentation rather than the sparse arrangements that littered much of his earlier work. There may not be anything more immediately gripping than lead single Thirst; but it's all played and produced well, and the tempos don't dip too low too often. All in all, it's a pleasant listen that will sound best on a lonely night drive.

The Hurry And The Harm is out June 4 on Dine Alone.

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