It's not a gig, it's a CD - a Collapsing Cities CD
Posted: Thu Nov 6, 2008 6:53 am

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But you can pretend it's a gig, if it makes you feel better.

Calling all indie kids! It’s time to slip on your favourite pair of canvas dancing shoes to enjoy a colourful compilation from your new favourite foursome - Collapsing Cities.
Some might be mistaken for thinking this is the Auckland based band’s debut recording, but it’s actually their second. First came their self-titled EP which was successfully released last year…and now we can enjoy 30 more minutes of danceable brit-pop inspired tunes on their latest, Elixir Always.

Forming in 2006, it wasn’t long before the fellas picked up bnet’s award for the most promising act in 2007. The lads have topped the bnet charts with singles Elixir Always, So I Said Last Weekend and their most recent single, Fear of Opening My Mouth. It’s this very song that made me want to learn all the raw lyrics so that I could sing along…with lines like “If I’m still a telemarketer next year I think I’ll end my life”, how can one resist?!

With an almost live feel to it, you may be wondering how the guys managed to create such a sound. Well…turns out the team had originally planned to make a live album which turned into heading down to Tim’s parents Hamilton home in March last year instead. It was here where Dale Cotton recorded the all of the music tracks in just a few days. Then front-man Steve Mathieson did his parts from home whenever he felt like it saying, “It just made more sense”.

Apparently all of the songs on this album are about something that’s happened in their lives – not all huge things, but things all the same. Like slower tune, Hey Esther, Thanks for the Poster which is a belated thank-you to a friend who made a gig poster for singer, Steve Mathieson’s previous band. It ended up all decayed and falling to bits under his bed – the poster that is, not the band. With that and other stand-out tracks, Those Party Pills and Man of Leisure it’s easy to relate to the honest words spoken in an accent that doesn’t sound too far off being British.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not just the somewhat thought provoking lyrics that make this album a danceable treat. It’s also delicious drum beats thanks to Tim Van Dammen along with the guitar and bass which are plucked in a Franz Ferdinand kind of way through every track. Hats off to whoever picked the first track for this CD, In The Valley which has the best foot-tapping enhancers I’ve heard on any album in a while.
So come on kids, grab your copy, throw those dancing shoes on and get ready to party like its 2008 to your new favourite band, Collapsing Cities!

Amanda Ratcliffe

Get this album on-line from www.nicksmusicbasement.co.nz

This message was edited by miss nz on Thu Nov 6, 2008 6:59 am.