Dallas Green = City and Colour
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Why is there always room for another singer-songwriter with an acoustic guitar? Must be something about the familiarity of the instrument, the sincerity of the words, the simplicity of the vocals. From Brett Dennen to Chris Carrabba, Kimya Dawson and Amy Honey, there always seems to be a voice and a finger-style that connects to people in a genuine way.
City and Colour’s first album Sometimes was a phenomenon in Canada, with two music videos, sold-out club shows coast-to-coast, and a subsequent live album and DVD. Dallas Green piqued interest, in part, because he is one of two vocalists in “post-hardcore†band Alexisonfire, who have a rabid fan base. As an Alexisonfire fan, when I first heard the City and Colour single “Save Your Scissors,†(“So save your scissors/ For someone else's skin/ My surface is so tough/ I don't think the blade will dig inâ€) I resisted the call. It was the song by a tattooed rocker that everyone’s mom liked. But by the time “Coming Home†was released, I had joined the mom parade. Resistance was futile.Part of it was that, going back and listening to Alexisonfire, I realized that his singing counterpoint to George Pettit’s screamo gave the band its distinctive sound. Seeing them live established this further. Mr. Green is extraordinarily humble and celebrity-averse, and he continuously sloughs off the starry-eyed adoration of his fans. Sometimes was a break-up album, with every song chronicling the lovelorn artist on the road: “You told me life was a risk/ But I have just one last question/ Will it be my heart or will it be his?â€Enter the new album Bring Me Your Love, released this week. I had thought that since Mr. Green is now in a high-profile relationship with a MuchMusic VJ, that he would have cheered up and entirely changed the character of his music. Au contraire , it appears that Dallas is experiencing a profound depression and that Leah is his saving grace. You might think that he wanted to further mine the concept of sorrow to add to his previous success. Maybe he has a manipulative talent that makes me believe he has a bleak existence. But I truly do not think so. The way he catalogues his sad, withdrawn and anxious behaviour tells me that he has experienced it. (“My dreams are nothing like what they were meant to be and I’m breaking down ...â€) In fact, I don’t know of any other artist who has explored this topic well, other than perhaps Elliott Smith, but his lyrics have more cynical humour. In fact, the first time I listened to this album all the way through, my first thought was, “I hope he lives to make another one.â€I am not one of those people who is attracted to the dark side. For example, I don’t especially like and admire Ian Curtis. Luckily this album has two other dimensions I can get into. The first is that the melody lines stick in your head and after a few listens, I found myself singing along to the songs. The second is that the album has an unacknowledged guest artist – the space in which it was recorded! The music was made with used and vintage instruments, played in a church that was converted into a studio, and captured “live off the floor.†The lead track "Forgive Me" has some white noise that I later found out was the whirring of a fan. I don’t have many studio albums in which the sense of place is distinctive. (Cat Power’s latest is one, though.)Two more thoughts before I close: Dallas Green knows how to do him some writin’ wit' good grammar (“the happiness for which you long is washed awayâ€) and I’m a sucker for that. And if you made it this far, I’ll blow my credibility (if I had any) by telling you that Dallas Green is my only really major rock star crush, because how could I not love his buff bod and cute feet?
City and Colour’s first album Sometimes was a phenomenon in Canada, with two music videos, sold-out club shows coast-to-coast, and a subsequent live album and DVD. Dallas Green piqued interest, in part, because he is one of two vocalists in “post-hardcore†band Alexisonfire, who have a rabid fan base. As an Alexisonfire fan, when I first heard the City and Colour single “Save Your Scissors,†(“So save your scissors/ For someone else's skin/ My surface is so tough/ I don't think the blade will dig inâ€) I resisted the call. It was the song by a tattooed rocker that everyone’s mom liked. But by the time “Coming Home†was released, I had joined the mom parade. Resistance was futile.Part of it was that, going back and listening to Alexisonfire, I realized that his singing counterpoint to George Pettit’s screamo gave the band its distinctive sound. Seeing them live established this further. Mr. Green is extraordinarily humble and celebrity-averse, and he continuously sloughs off the starry-eyed adoration of his fans. Sometimes was a break-up album, with every song chronicling the lovelorn artist on the road: “You told me life was a risk/ But I have just one last question/ Will it be my heart or will it be his?â€Enter the new album Bring Me Your Love, released this week. I had thought that since Mr. Green is now in a high-profile relationship with a MuchMusic VJ, that he would have cheered up and entirely changed the character of his music. Au contraire , it appears that Dallas is experiencing a profound depression and that Leah is his saving grace. You might think that he wanted to further mine the concept of sorrow to add to his previous success. Maybe he has a manipulative talent that makes me believe he has a bleak existence. But I truly do not think so. The way he catalogues his sad, withdrawn and anxious behaviour tells me that he has experienced it. (“My dreams are nothing like what they were meant to be and I’m breaking down ...â€) In fact, I don’t know of any other artist who has explored this topic well, other than perhaps Elliott Smith, but his lyrics have more cynical humour. In fact, the first time I listened to this album all the way through, my first thought was, “I hope he lives to make another one.â€I am not one of those people who is attracted to the dark side. For example, I don’t especially like and admire Ian Curtis. Luckily this album has two other dimensions I can get into. The first is that the melody lines stick in your head and after a few listens, I found myself singing along to the songs. The second is that the album has an unacknowledged guest artist – the space in which it was recorded! The music was made with used and vintage instruments, played in a church that was converted into a studio, and captured “live off the floor.†The lead track "Forgive Me" has some white noise that I later found out was the whirring of a fan. I don’t have many studio albums in which the sense of place is distinctive. (Cat Power’s latest is one, though.)Two more thoughts before I close: Dallas Green knows how to do him some writin’ wit' good grammar (“the happiness for which you long is washed awayâ€) and I’m a sucker for that. And if you made it this far, I’ll blow my credibility (if I had any) by telling you that Dallas Green is my only really major rock star crush, because how could I not love his buff bod and cute feet?
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