The City Lights
El Sol
11 Track, LP (2007, Ivy League)
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Related: The City Lights.
El Sol, the second record from Sydney outfit The City Lights – inspired by the band’s recent tour through Spain – is an interesting prospect. It straddles the fence between all-out guitar rock and clangy, art-pop, almost lacking a sonic identity as a result, yet at the same time being curiously inviting. Original members, the Roden brothers and Danny Allen (Youth Group), are joined in this instance by Bruno Brayovic and Graeme Trewin (Peabody and ex-Peabody, respectively) as well as percussionist Kit Warhurst (Rocket Science), and given that all these cats know the score, musically, this is a tight and cohesive record.
Nonetheless, opener ‘Take A Picture Of The Sun’ is a little weak and second track and lead single, ‘Everyone Out’ smacks of trash punk, but from there the six-piece draw on their collective experience and the record opens up a bit. ‘Here To Stay’, with its sharp guitar riffs, is the cut which gets the head nodding, and the groove becomes apparent as El Sol wends it’s way to a finish: through the bounce of ‘Get Steady’ to the deluxely bass-lined ‘You Ain’t Heard The Last Of Us’. The result is an album that showcases the musical workings of a tight group of collaborators and as such, despite its shortcomings, it stands as a solid record.
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