Impact date: 28/11/11
Picture this: Four twenty-something guys from various parts of the UK meet at a Ryan Adams gig in Manchester and decide to start a band. City Reign were born (did the Ryan Adams fans among you notice the reference to his track ‘City Rain, City Streets’ there)? Next, BBC 6Music’s Steve Lamacq picks up on and plays ‘Making Plans’, noticing the Idlewild influences. He then invites the band on air for an interview and hails them as a band to look out for, along with The Heartbreaks and Driver Drive Faster. Not a bad start for a DIY single.
Another previous single ‘Out In The Cold’ is included on the ‘Numbers For Street Names’ EP, which received a raving recommendation from The Independent (see quote below and the video on www.cityreign.net).
To complete the EP, there are three brand new tracks recorded at Blueprint studios. As singer Chris Bull says, “We’re extremely proud of these 5 songs. It’s a good mix of the punchier pop songs like the singles Making Plans and Out In the Cold, alongside bigger sounding songs like ‘The Line’. It closes nicely with a new song called ‘Anywhere Anyway’ recorded at the 11th hour, that we knew instantly where had to close the record. Although the song is stripped back, the vocal layers give it depth and it shows the attention to detail we put into everything we do.”
‘Numbers For Street Names’ will be released on the bands own label Car Boot Records on CD and digital download. It will be available to pre-order via the band’s brand new website www.cityreign.net from 1st October.
Track listing
1 Making Plans (GBK6T1000001)
2 Sleep Easy (GBK6T1000004)
3 The Line (GBK6T1000005)
4 Out In The Cold (GBK6T1000002)
5 Anywhere Anyway (GBK6T1000006)
Quotes
“Fans of Yuck and Dinosaur Jr will approve of City Reign’s anthemic, grunge. A million failing garage bands will ask why.”
The Independent
“‘Making Plans’, I do like that.”
Steve Lamacq BBC 6 Music
“I’m really digging the wistful lyrics, powerful guitars and pounding drums. It couldn’t be a better slice of English city life if it tried…it all makes for something very atmospheric”
There Goes The Fear
Murky guitar atmospherics, emote an almighty passion and power.
Manchester Evening News
This independence of mind can be heard in their driving guitar rock sound, unphased by suggestions that the guitar band is destined for the musical scrap heap.
Music Week
The Manchester-based band’s third single manages to hit all the right notes.
One’s to watch. 9/10
Shout4Music
Tour Dates
Oct 26th – The Ruby Lounge – Manchester supporting The Birthday Suit (former Idlewild Rod Jones)
Nov 5th – CC Muziekcafe – Amsterdam
Nov 7th – Ram +Shackle – Manchester
Nov 12th – The Bay – Glasgow
Nov 15th - West Street Live – Sheffield
Nov 19th – Bull & Gate – Camden, London
Nov 26th – Gullivers – Manchester
Dec 3rd – The Live Lounge - Blackburn
