It’s 10 years now since Dallas Green stepped away from his punk roots in Alexisonfire and waded into the calmer waters of his solo project City And Colour.
In fact, it’s strange to think, now, of him ever really embracing the din of his former band, because he seems so at home in the warm haze of melancholia on If I Should Go Before You, his fifth album and the first one to feature his touring band.
As ever, his mournful falsetto is married to woozy, twilit melodies that build to claustrophobic crescendos, suggesting a deep love of Jeff Buckley. Opener Woman spins out over nine sumptuous minutes to introduce a work of bluesy beauty in which Green dissects the madness of love.
It may all be a little too polished and tasteful for some palates, but for others this is 15 togs of pure aural comfort to wrap yourself in.
