EP Review: THECITYISOURS – Wildfire

Many people consider first impressions to be everything; whether it’s a job interview, a first date or a project being released onto the world, it’s important to look, act or sound your best to grab people and distinguish yourself from others in a respectable manner. In the music world, this seems to be even more dire as the onset of the internet and streaming services have allowed for a vast ocean of music to reach listeners ears. With so much to choose from and only a limited amount of time, if it doesn’t grab those same listeners immediately, they move on to the next thing. Grabbing listeners right away is what UK metalcore outfit THECITYISOURS have done as their debut single, “A Reason” helped propel them to a point relatively new bands rarely achieve. With such quick building fanfare, it left fans eager for more and with the band’s debut EP, Wildfire, set to drop July 21st, the anticipation is justified.

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Genre: Metalcore | Rock
Release: July 21, 2016
Label: Unsigned
Purchase: iTunes | Google Play
Connect: Facebook | Twitter
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Sonically, Wildfire comes across as a mixture of multiple established bands such as Bury Tomorrow, Beartooth and Of Mice & Men, but still retains an identity that lives at the core of the band itself. The opening track and lead single, “Wildfire” utilizes a somber piano opening before exploding with raw, harsh screams and pounding riffs that lead into a ridiculously catchy chorus. This mixture creates an anthemic aura around the track sampling parts of the bands vast array of talent. Following the opener up is “Dry Your Eyes” which is similar in song structure and rawness, but sees its uniqueness derive from the band slowing it down giving off a calm vibe that lets the percussions and guitars truly shine while never feeling out of place. The third track, “Haunted”, is the standout track in regards to pure energy and “jam-ability” as it opens up with a catchy guitar riff that leads into screamed verses that bring with it a heavier atmosphere before breaking down into another innately catchy chorus. “Lungs” sees the best mixture of cleans and uncleans as the melodies seamlessly integrate with the more melodic driven instrumentation. The ending track, “The Life In You” presents the most atmospherically driven sound as there’s a build-up of all the elements found within Wildfire as it slowly fades in the outro, wrapping up the story told throughout each track.

THECITYISOURS – WILDFIRE (OFFICIAL VIDEO) HD

Taken from the EP ‘Wildfire’, available to purchase now. iTunes: http://bit.ly/TCIOwildfire Filmed & Directed by Future Epic Productions Follow THECITYISOURS Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/THECITYISOURSUK Twitter – https://twitter.com/THECITYISOURSUK Instagram – https://instagram.com/THECITYISOURSUK

While there are a multitude of references in sound to other, established bands, THECITYISOURS have still managed to craft a style and sound that is wholly unique to them. Featuring five tracks and coming in at a total runtime of 20 minutes, there’s an essence of briefness to Wildfire, which is expected from shorter releases. Fortunately, the briefness doesn’t take away from the overall replay-ability and variety as the songs rarely get monotonous or “old” sounding after multiple listens. For a debut release from a relatively young and unestablished band, there’s also an incredible level of polish to the overall package that many debuts never have. If this EP is any indication of what’s to come, THECITYISOURS will undoubtedly go far.