City And Colour: If I Should Go Before You

The soundtrack to your next duvet day.

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It’s 10 years now since Dallas Green stepped away from his punk roots in Alexisonfire and waded into the calmer waters of his solo project City And Colour.

In fact, it’s strange to think, now, of him ever really embracing the din of his former band, because he seems so at home in the warm haze of melancholia on If I Should Go Before You, his fifth album and the first one to feature his touring band.

As ever, his mournful falsetto is married to woozy, twilit melodies that build to claustrophobic crescendos, suggesting a deep love of Jeff Buckley. Opener Woman spins out over nine sumptuous minutes to introduce a work of bluesy beauty in which Green dissects the madness of love.

It may all be a little too polished and tasteful for some palates, but for others this is 15 togs of pure aural comfort to wrap yourself in.

Emma has been writing about music for 25 years, and is a regular contributor to Classic Rock, Metal Hammer, Prog and Louder. During that time her words have also appeared in publications including Kerrang!, Melody Maker, Select, The Blues Magazine and many more. She is also a professional pedant and grammar nerd and has worked as a copy editor on everything from film titles through to high-end property magazines. In her spare time, when not at gigs, you’ll find her at her local stables hanging out with a bunch of extremely characterful horses.