City and Colour – ‘Little Hell’ | Album Review

Review: Billy Geary

Everyone has their own ‘little hells,’ whether it is losing a friend, body image or even just having a bad day. For Dallas Green, the man behind folk project City and Colour (and guitarist for post-hardcore act Alexisonfire), his little hells stem from his family and friends problems and his feeling of hopelessness. Thus, Little Hell is quite a dark exploration by Green into the darker parts of his life, his little hells, producing his most honest and compelling album to date.

On previous releases, the vast majority of his material consisted of simply Green’s acoustic guitar and his voice. Little Hell sees Green branch out, introducing his electric guitar amongst an array of other instruments throughout the album. What this does is expands the record’s sound out quite nicely, removing the problem the previous City and Colour releases had in that they were very samey. It is this subtle transformation in City and Colour’s sound that ultimately helps Green escape the plethora of one-man folk projects into much more original and unique territory. This development was a much-needed one, as Green is one of the best songwriters going around currently.

As with City and Colour’s previous releases, the main attraction of Little Hell is that of Green’s angelic vocals. His voice is the kind of thing to make guys (some albeit secretly!) and girls worldwide week at the knees, such is the beauty of it. Songs such as dreamy opener ‘We Found Each Other In The Dark’ and the utterly harrowing ‘Hope For Now’ are standouts, however there are moments across the album that are impressive vocally. The climax on standout track ‘Hope For Now’ is truly outstanding, transitioning from soft folk to a much louder rock sound in a wave of emotion.

The production on Little Hell is utterly wonderful. Recorded almost entirely in a church directly onto tape in Green’s hometown, the record has a real lo-fi feel about it. Not only does this give the album some of the character that modern music is lacking these days, it also pushes the sheer emotion of Green’s songs to the forefront. ‘Hope For Now’ is one of the most heart wrenching songs of the year, while Green’s lament about his sister in ‘O’ Sister’ is bound to pull on the heartstrings. It is this raw emotion that will ensure Little Hell is remembered for a fair while longer as, combined with Green’s song writing skill and outstanding vocals, it makes for a more than memorable album.

Little Hell is utterly heartbreaking, with the sheer emotion emulating from the album sure to move even the coldest of people. By branching out in terms of instruments used and opening up completely, Little Hell is by far City and Colour’s best album. In fact, it is arguably the best album of Green’s musical career, including Alexisonfire. Little Hell is the most heartbreakingly beautiful album of the year.

Review: Billy Geary

AVAILABLE FROM:
* City And Colour – ‘Little Hell’ CD

* City And Colour – ‘Little Hell’ Vinyl LP

– Little Hell (Deluxe Version) – City and Colour

City and Colour – Fragile Bird (Unrated) – Video Clip

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