City Oh Sigh - Fragments Fine Album Review
Wellington’s extremely accomplished chamber folk quartet; City Oh Sigh release their first full length album, Fragments Fine - and it’s a breath-taking beauty. Lead songwriter, singer and cellist Kate has a magical way with her beautiful notes; expertly catching and playing with the pitches and tones creating something special and reminding you of what a joy it is to listen to a truly talented vocalist at work.
This album is the anti-shuffle; sweetly and thoughtfully created with a real narrative about it, especially thanks to the gentle rising horn section on opener and single – Sometimes which leads you on down the album’s path. By the way City Oh Sigh’s debut music video for Sometimes, created by video and animation production house National Park; is incredible and highly recommended to animation / stop-motion / experimental film nerds! Get ye’ to YouTube, post haste!
Regretfully, any trip into a Westfield Mall at the moment heralds on billboards and signage that ‘floral grunge is trending’; and while comparison is the theft of joy it’s been said, this somewhat dubious trend title contains one of the aspects that was dear to my adolescence…grunge. City Oh Sigh bring those ol’ grungy feelings back for me, a pared down, effortlessly cool and sparse initial impression that on repeated listens rewards with layers of skilled musicianship.
Think Mazzy Star through a cleaner, clearer production sound; or perhaps even Tanya Donnelly and ‘Feed the Tree’ era Belly. How Long and Hold On are particular album highlights; but also Last Season which plays perfectly in our autumnal onset, mellow on the ears like a warm sun-shower dusting your shoulders. Great melodies, great harmonies; Fragments Fine is a tight and tidy ten tracks that invoke feelings of love, devotion and realisation.
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About City Oh Sigh
Lead singer/songwriter/cellist Kate started writing her own songs after a stint playing with several bands (Ladybird, Blackbelles, Shiver Like Timber, Planet Earth) across New Zealand, Australia, America and Europe. On returning to New Zealand, Kate teamed up with old friends, Sarah (vintage Rhodes) and Catherine (guitar, vocals and trumpet), and started writing songs with themes of love and loss, friendship and loneliness. All three girls also appeared in power-pop octet The Sisters of St Rupertsberg, an all-girl band that went about stealing hearts on the Wellington indie scene.
Visit the muzic.net.nz Profile for City Oh Sigh
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