Comparing City Calm Down with progressive rock bands like The National and White Lies is somewhat accurate, but ultimately wrong. Jack Bourke, the frontman of the burgeoning four-piece, and the rest of the band emulate The National on lead single “Rabbit Run” to a fault. There’s the unmistakable baritone, soft drum lines and the gradual progression of layers, pace and emotion. It’s an incredible song, but for casual listeners, indie kids and ‘music was better in the ’90s’ advocates- the apple may not have fallen far enough from the tree. That said, ‘In A Restless House’ is so much more than first glances and knee-jerk reactions may suggest. It opens up amidst every stunning synth and piano undercurrent, transformative vocals, and jarring, emotive soundscapes, to reveal not only one of the best Australian albums of the year, but one of Australia’s rising talents.
It’s been a long time coming for Bourke and co, releasing their debut EP almost three years ago to wide success. ‘Movement’s’ saw the band deploy textual synths and brooding soundscapes in every way imaginable, conjuring an amalgam of indie-dance-rock in the veins of contemporaries like Mercy Arms, The Holidays and Nantes. However, three years is a long time in music and their sound and overall ambition has drastically changed, decidedly moving towards more expansive, colourful and assured soundscapes. With ‘In A Restless House’, the new order that they heralded, amongst those mentioned and countless other Aussie acts, is shifted, morphed and eventually cemented as their distinct sound over the course of the LP’s outstanding 11 tracks.
‘In A Restless House’ serves as a time-lapse photograph, capturing every bit of meticulous effort placed in the band’s development and evolution over these three long years. Bourke’s voice floats – no, drives – through every track as the worthy focal point, with each sonic layer submitting to his will, alleviating his malleability and in turn highlighting the bands aforementioned audial depth. “Son” is perhaps the best example of the shape-shifting that is now at their disposal. Opening with a swarm of gorgeously gothic pianos, Bourke’s voice breaks through, projecting the image of a revivalist church in the midst of an especially tangible encounter. Suddenly the glorious facade is stripped back through its jarring drum snaps, comedic harmonies and triumphant horn samples. The moody, impassioned preacher image is no more, revealing a circus of ‘sins’ and new age instruments – the film clip writes itself.
If this is the new, New Age sound, the record’s inspired, subtle sonic divergences are something else entirely, yet to be defined. “Nowhere To Start” ironically starts in the middle of a vortex, as synths bounce around one another, and continue to do so intermittently underneath Bourke’s, and an unknown songstress’s vocals. The arrangement is decidedly minimalistic, allowing the duo’s harmonies to ride on top of bass licks, and ethereal reverbs before falling away as Bourke’s vocals and vivacious persona permeate in front of spacious pianos and soft drum kicks.
It’s in these moments that City Calm Down position themselves as something truly remarkable, somehow combining flawless, moody soundscapes with charismatic vocals to depict numerous twisted, yet oddly resisting vignettes. Each cut is a journey through time, space, and wherever your imagination and City Calm Down want to take you. It’s sometimes too easy to forget that the art you witness or the music you listen to, did not come from you, nor was it specifically meant for you, but rather you’re at the beck and call of the creator, the artist. City Calm Down lead you, hand on shoulder, dressed head to toe in black, shirts’ unbuttoned revealing a gold cross beaming through dense chest hair, down a tunnel seemingly recognisable but never witnessed by your own eyes – and you’re oddly at ease with it all.
It’s painstakingly obvious that these songs are built to last, not only through time and critique, but in your mind and inner being, such is the glaring perfection throughout the LP’s entirety. This is no more clearer than on the closing, title track and album highlight. It’s both the end of our journey and the journey itself. Once again synths usher in those now familiar vocals, but with more decisiveness than ever before, as the cut explodes multiple times, cracking underneath its own insurmountable gravity of emotion and supremacy. Ultimately, ‘In A Restless House’ is exactly that. It bubbles with an unquantifiable energy, but carries with it an inescapable sense of similarity that will unfurl, and coil through your blood for days, weeks, months and years to come.
8.4/10
‘In A Restless House’ is out now, and you can grab it here.
It’s also streaming via Spotify below…