Search - Comet Gain :: City Fallen Leaves

A great overlooked album

mountain viewer | California | 09/30/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"One of the better albums of 2005, but generally not well known. The basic sound is midway between power pop and old-school punk. Indeed it might sound too old-school (derivative) at first, but the psychological and cultural context for the songs is very contemporary. If you have any affinity for the various forms that have emerged from punk in the last fifteen years or so, you should be able to get something useful from this, and if the Pacific Northwest variants (KRS, Barsuk, etc) appeal at all, this should speak powerfully.



There are some slow parts, and the second half is generally stronger than the first. But songs like "Fists in the Pockets" and "Gone before We Open Our Eyes" capture a particular kind of 30-something radical truth that should appeal well beyond genre fans. And "One More Summer before I Go" is one for the ages.



Put that Arcade Fire or Elliot Smith on lay-a-way, and spend this week's discretionary income on a lost gem instead."