Words by Jim

Christ almighty it’s been hot already, hasn’t it? This is not early June weather. This is late August, holy-shit-I’m-never-going-to-stop-sweating weather. What can you do though? Grin and bare it. A wise man that I’ve worked with in the past told me that you just have to remove it from your mind. Push it aside. Take your thoughts to a cooler place and pretty soon you won’t even notice it. Focus on something else. Sitting here in a balmy apartment, I’ve found that something and it’s name is Entire Cities. Bring on the heat, brother. Bring it on.

Entire Cities / Bruise Black
Entire Cities / Predator Song

So I could choose to listen to something chill in the hopes that the “vibe” would cool my surroundings and me down, but that’s not how it works. What a man needs in this weather is something to get worked up about. Something to justify the sweat and smell (gross). Passion. Adventure. Coincidently, those last two words are inherent to the music of Toronto-based band Entire Cities and that’s what I’m fucking talking about. If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em, and the heat’s already on so let’s do this.

Entire Cities hails from the beautiful and music-inundated Canadian city of Toronto. With head honcho, Simon Borer, Entire Cities runs and jumps through indie rock ragged country hoops with their latest release I Hope You Never Come Home. It’s a beautifully passionate adventure into jagged guitar hooks and simple harmonies. Banjo creeps in and out. Percussion stops and starts awkwardly and the whole affair seems like it’s held together with shoe string and chewing gum (in an awesome way). It’s crazy, it’s wild, it’s fun, and it’s goddamn honest. Borer’s vocals aren’t pretty by any means and his melody lines creak and groan like a weathered porch, but it fits with the music and the music sways with the vocals and it’s just one big happy family that I’m glad to be a part of while I listen.

Opening track “Bruise Black” is easily my favorite and it’s a hell of tune to greet the listener with (well done, folks). A thumping bass line awkwardly introduces you to Borer’s tinkling vocals lines and guitar notes. Borer recounts vividly what seem to be memories about bus trips and women-folk and home. Despite the violent title, it’s a feel good song even though I’m not privy to all the references and allusions. I think that’s why I like this band so much – the music is honest and the messages are true and even if these are references to Canadian places or even close friends of the band, the music somehow pulls me in and makes me feel like one of them. “Gimme A Ride” is the same way, conveying that hop-in-the-car-and-let’s-go good time feeling while successfully slapping a goofy grin on my face with those cascading guitar lines.

Now I’ve started this discussion with the first two songs on their latest release and I’ll end it with the very last song because it’s beautiful and inspiring and just out right lovely. “Predator Song” sounds like it was recorded on the porch or in the kitchen and leaves me speechless “My mother stands before the choir / Shows them words she wrote walking in the woods / She sings to keep the predators away / Before she knows those words of praise / Are on her lips / Those predator songs turn to hymns”. Yeah. Awesome. Tasteful melodica drones in the background accompanying gently strummed acoustic guitar and gang vocals. This is late summer evenings. This is the setting sun. This is hot and sweaty and surrounded by friends and loved ones and knowing that this memory will survive for eternity.

Ahem. Waxing poetic just like Borer himself. Anyway, listen to the tunes above and check out Entire Cities most recent release and more. You might get sweaty, but you won’t be disappointed.

Entire Cities in the Webs
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