The Gold Medalists - The City Lights Us On Fire
ARTIST........: The Gold Medalists
TITLE.........: The City Lights Us On Fire
LABEL.........: Actually, Records
URL...........: http://cdbaby.com/cd/goldmedalists
GENRE.........: Indie
QUALITY:......: 152 kbps avg/ 44100Hz / Joint Stereo
RIP DATE......: 2007-12-29
RELEASE DATE..: 2007-12-26
Tracklist:
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01. Forgotten 1:52
02. Where We Land 4:10
03. Whiteley Screams, Denver Sleeps 1:24
04. Tennesse 2:22
05. Drift 4:13
06. The Bay 2:54
07. Quiet Town 3:22
08. Slow Machines 4:34
09. Flight 5:25
10. In This Room 3:34
11. We Can Try 3:34
12. Summer After 2:48
13. A Little Knife 3:36
14. Blue Skies 2:43
15. Untitled Hidden Track 10:49
Total 57:20
Release Notes:
The City Lights Us on Fire draws heavily on NguyenÆs vast array of cultural
influences (Public Enemy, Minor Threat, Metallica, Skankin' Pickle, Top Gun and
Thundercats) and King Kong Balls musical chops to create a tour de force debut.
These are the sounds of a musician unafraid to contrast songs you want to hear
on a sunny day when you wish it were raining next to high energy, throat
ripping, noise-laden dance-funk riots. Beginning with the haunting
æForgottenÆ, the album quickly launches into the one-two punch of æWhere We
LandÆ and æWhitely Screams, Denver SleepsÆ, the former a model of glistening
electro-pop and the latter a fractured noise revolt. The album then travels
from the bittersweet (æDriftÆ, æQuiet TownÆ, and æFlightÆ), the reflective
(æTennesseeÆ), the splintered (æThe BayÆ), to the cathartic yet yearning (æSlow
MachinesÆ). Before the albumÆs conclusion, the listenerÆs heart breaks with the
appearance of an intimate and evocative quartet of songs (æIn This RoomÆ, æWe
Can TryÆ, æSummer AfterÆ, and æA Little KnifeÆ). Connected via the shared traits
of delicate singing, autumnal lyrics, and enigmatic field recordings, Nguyen
creates an aural tableau so private and precious that it almost feels intrusive
to listen to them. Culminating with the heartbreaking and regretful æBlue
SkiesÆ, The City Lights Us on Fire leaves the listener marked by a sonic
experience rich in its emotional honesty and fiery determination. Guest
appearances on The City Lights Us on Fire are as vast as the sounds on the
record itself and include stellar contributions from Paul Costuros (Total
Shutdown, Death Sentence Panda), Nate Denver (Total Shutdown, Nate Denver's
Neck), Che Chou (EE), Paul Allan (Sounds of the Barbary Coast), George Chen
(Boxleitner, K.I.T., 7 Year Rabbit Cycle) and one giraffe-face breaking scream
from Mark Whiteley (editor of Slap Skateboarding Magazine).