Love and tortured souls normally go hand-in-hand, and the new record by The City Streets isn’t any different.
The third self-released album from the band, off of their own record label, Clamour Records, tells a story of a torrid love affair and all of the emotions you’d probably encounter. The lead singer, Rick Reid, lists John Cassavetes as one of his influences, so you should expect a dense story that’s layered with a fatal attraction towards the pain one gets from a love that doesn’t work out.
There is anger in the Cassevetes’ movies and you can certainly find anger in the lyrics of the songs from The Jazz Age. There are talks of driving into the ocean, trying on your ex’s clothes, and even seeing ghosts.
The band, from Canada, blends pop, punk, and a little bit of folk music to put together an opus of symphonic caliber.
They get in touch with their punk-rock roots on the track, “Irish Rose.” This is the song where a jaded lover misses his ex so much, he’s trying so hard to keep her in his life, he’s even wearing her clothes and trying on perfume. Any musician that could come up with (or live) a story like this definitely has a shot in the music industry ( lots of legends have been disturbed, Cobain, Jim Morrison).
The lyrics are poetic, encapsulating a story of a man who doesn’t know how to let go, like any forbidden love or broken heart, one has to or eventually will get over who they thought was their significant other. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of direction Reid and the rest of City Streets decide to go after they’re ‘over’ the ‘Jazz Age.’ Tortured souls of love, either recover triumphantly or die trying.
Other great songs to check out beside “Irish Rose:” “Song For Lee” and “White Noise.”
Photo Credit:Sarah Wyse
