City and Colour: If I Should Go Before You

There’s something special about a singer-songwriter whose ambitions are such that he or she is compelled to shed their given name and adapt a handle that indicates there’s an entire band at work in the background. If nothing else, it takes the artist beyond the typical solo performer syndrome, suggesting that there’s a greater vision at work behind the scenes. Or else, it gives rise to the suspicion that maybe there’s a bit of false pretense as well.

In the case of City and Colour, both scenarios may be at work. The nom-de-plume for Canadian minstrel Dallas Green, the name reflects both light and dark, the gritty urban elements as opposed to the zest of the countryside. In truth, the handle plays off his name, Dallas being a city, of course, and Green…well, green is, well, generally associated with the primary color in nature. According to the explanation offered by Wikipedia, he felt queasy “putting the album out under the name Dallas Green,” although he also claims he’s been composing music since he was around the age of 14. According to that same article, the material on his debut album Sometimes was written when he was 16 years old, although it wasn’t completed until 2005 when the album initially appeared.

City and Colour’s new album, the ominously titled If I Should Go Before You ably showcases the conflicting elements that, ahem, color Green’s music. The first two numbers, “Woman” (not the John Lennon song of the same name) and “Northern Blues” are etched as celestial soundscapes, all very heavenly sounding with a decidedly philosophical bent. “Mizzy C” is more grounded, but like much of the album, it also finds Green singing in a higher register that often finds him veering into Jon Anderson’s celestial territory. It’s somewhat high-minded to be sure, and indeed, it’s not until one reaches track number seven, “Runaway” (here again, not the Del Shannon song of the same name) that the sound gets sturdier and the album finds firmer footing. From that point on, the accessibility factor weighs heavily on the proceedings, with songs such as the earnest “Lover Come Back” and the sprightly “Map of the World” making an immediate impression, something the earlier entries didn’t quite achieve.

Nevertheless, the high point of the project is the soaring ”Friends” (you guessed it, not the Elton John nor the Andrew Gold songs of the same name). While some songs on If I Should Go Before You seem mired in a malaise, this one is engrained with a sheen and sentiment that reverberates throughout. Add some shimmering pedal steel, and it adds up to one of the most memorable songs in City and Colour ‘s entire canon. Had the rest of the album sounded so assured, Green might have made his masterpiece.

As it is, City and Colour achieve only part of the goal here, that is, to make an album that represents the totality of Green’s one man, overarched vision. That he succeeds even partially is a credit to his willingness to at least try.