City and Colour

It may just be part of our makeup as Canadians that every homegrown rocker has a sensitive singer-songwriter inside them — and that’s precisely what listeners prefer. Dallas Green proved that when his first City and Colour solo project surprisingly opened up an entirely new audience beyond Alexisonfire. Understandably, this follow-up comes with some expectations as to how serious he actually is about his acoustic alter ego. To his credit, Green’s decision to move beyond home recording and work in a real studio (Hamilton, ON’s Catherine North) adds a lot of texture that was lacking on the first record. Co-producer Dan Achen employs some trademark Lanois-isms, which certainly heighten the tension of songs like "Confessions” and "What Makes A Man,” as do cameos by Gord Downie and members of Attack In Black. But while Green’s songs show some marked maturity, even verging on Elliott Smith territory, he’s not there yet, judging from the unrelenting navel-gazing lyrical tone throughout the album. Although this undeniable fact is sure to continue enrapturing his already angst-ridden legions of fans, Green cannot claim greatness until he starts embracing a wider worldview. Bring Me Your Love is definitely a positive step in that direction but one that falls prey to, at times, cringe-inducing sentimentality.