The City on Film
La Vella
Reviewed by: Jordy Lyric
Braid is one of those 90’s bands that never quite faded with the coming of the new era. Some may even call them pioneers of the emo movement, citing their third album, Frame and Canvas. Their reunion shows sold out rapidly, and frontman Bob Nanna didn’t stop at that this year. Nanna’s side project, The City on Film, is gifting fans with a new record, their second, La Vella. While the album reminisces on some of the classic elements of Braid, it’s definitely current, mingling pop punk and emo elements its instrumentation, but with vocals calming down a little bit and exploring a slightly gentler course at times. To be honest, it’s certainly not a surprising release, but it’s discernible among Nanna’s previous body of work and, though similar, doesn’t sound dated. If you like (or love, as many do) Braid, the album is awesome. The music is great, and won’t disappoint Nanna’s time tested and ever-loyal fan base. Nanna and co-producer Jeff Dean (famously of The Bomb and Noise by Numbers, with stints in several other bands including The Story So Far) have rolled out a personal and jam-able winner.
Rating: Bad-Ass
