City On Fire - A Cure To Your Weakness

10.04.2007 | Boxhead | 2 Comments

Genre: Indie / Rock
For Fans Of: Taking Back Sunday
Favourite Songs: The Shutdown
Running Time: 13:32
Year: 2007
Website Link: http://www.cityonfirerock.com/
Myspace Link: http://www.myspace.com/cityonfiremusic

Score: 40

Disappointing debut release from Melbourne act

REVIEW.

I’m an enormous fan of Australian music. Nothing makes me happier than seeing a local band play a great show or release an amazing record… Which is why “A Cure To Your Weakness” is such a disappointment.

Rather than drawing influence from their local musical environment (Melbourne), City On Fire are a band so intent on mimicking their American counterparts that they’ve lost any trace of originality that they once possessed. To put it simply, this EP sounds like a cheap version of Taking Back Sunday.

Everything from the guitar tones and vocal phrasings to the promotional photos accompanying the record’s release is a carbon copy of what fan favourites TBS are currently doing – just no where near as good.

The riffs are generic and not catchy in any way, the drums are so straight forward that they become boring and the vocals border on monotonous.

CONCLUSION.

I’m going to keep this review short because I really struggled to find any positives whilst listening to “A Cure For Your Weakness”. There’s a melody in “The Shutdown” which is pretty cool but as far as the rest of the EP goes it’s by the numbers, modern pop-rock.

TRACKLISTING.

1. Digital You On A Digital Screen
2. Drama Is What We Do Best (And It Still Feels Like That Gun)
3. The Shutdown
4. I Feel So Removed I Don't Even Know Myself Anymore (Rope Pt II)