Source: EP Artwork
It can be difficult to make a good first impression with your first few releases, but TheCityIsOurs have managed to do just that with their debut EP ‘Wildfire’ – despite having been a band for barely a year. Blurring the lines between punchy metalcore and rock to form a hard-hitting hybrid has enabled them to create something that’s both brutal and sentimental. They’ve got the balance just right – the smooth blend of powerful hooks, clean vocals and mighty riffs gives them a similar style to the likes of Bury Tomorrow, Beartooth and Of Mice & Men.
Opening track ‘Wildfire’ awakens in you an urge to focus on the positive and overcome adversity in order to make the best of challenging situations. There’s nothing bleak about this track – it’ll do nothing but empower. When the clean hook hits you, you feel like you’ve triumphed and overcome something and it’s a really striking way to open the EP.
‘Dry Your Eyes’ and ‘Haunted’ are both incredibly lyrically reflective. They tell stories and share experiences and as a result are emotive enough to move any listener and induce their own personal retrospection. Both tracks begin abruptly with urgent riffs and raw guttural vocals providing the crucial metalcore bite, before collapsing into the pairing of comfortingly confident vocals and melodic reverberating riffs.
It’s difficult not to feel a sense of loss when listening to ‘Lungs’. It’s clear something is breaking down or being taken away, and you can’t help but be dragged into the emotive whirlwind of the track. It’s lyrically and sonically saturated with a raw emotion that can be felt intensely through the vocals. ‘The Life In You’ hits you even harder with a tangible feeling of loss. There are references to death and grief but they’ve tried not to end the EP on a bleak note and so focus on the positive impacts people leave behind after they’re gone. The harsh vocals echo against a background of serene melodic riffs and create a hauntingly evocative atmosphere – one that makes the loss palpable.
Wildfire is an impressively polished and commendable debut. They’ve hit the nail on the head with this release – we’re struggling to criticise it. If seeing such a promising release so early on is a sign of what’s to come, then we’re really excited about the future of TheCityIsOurs. Keep an eye on them!
