City and Colour: If I Should Go Before You

City and Colour
If I Should Go Before You
(Dine Alone Music)

Canadian singer/guitarist Dallas Green, otherwise known as City and Colour, has crafted a beautifully packaged album in If I Should Go Before You. It’s a moody piece of work, but that’s what makes it work. Musically, there’s no comparing it to earlier albums. Instead of folk-acoustic, we get a little bit of dark R&B and country with some pop acoustic-meets-psychedelic rock on tracks like “Woman,” “Northern Blues,” “If I Should Go Before You,” “Killing Time” and “Lover Come Back.” Opener “Woman” logs in at nine minutes. It starts out sparse then swells into this impressive piece of vocal and musical arrangement. “Northern Blues” is a groovy number making way for the title track and the soul-tinged “Killing Time,” but it is “Lover Come Back” that brings a fresh, urgent vibe to the record. The song is lyrically touching (“Bound for trouble from the start/I’ve been walking through this old world in the dark/All along right by my side/There you were shining, my ray of light”), it’s also possibly the most radio-friendly tune. If I Should Go Before You showcases a different City and Colour, but I’m thinking true fans might very well be impressed.