{"id":2263,"date":"2012-12-27T17:18:47","date_gmt":"2012-12-27T17:18:47","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2012-12-27T17:18:47","modified_gmt":"2012-12-27T17:18:47","slug":"","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.livestagemusic.com\/?p=2263","title":{"rendered":"City Reign &#8211; Another Step Out February 25th 2013 on Car Boot Records"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"420\" height=\"315\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/lAyao1PkTd8\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>\u2018A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step\u2019, said ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu. We all have dreams to conquer but few of us have the nerve to put fear aside and chase them by making that first move. Meet Manchester four-piece City Reign. Their full-length debut, \u2018Another Step\u2019, is a landmark guitar record fuelled by sheer ambition and \u2018do or die\u2019 attitude. It\u2019s the culmination of their story so far, yet also just the first step planted on the road ahead.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEver since I was seven I\u2019ve had a belief that this is the right thing for me to do. I don\u2019t know how I\u2019d get out of bed if I didn\u2019t feel like I was doing something meaningful musically,\u201d frontman Chris Bull says with conviction. This drive is shared by the three \u2013 (Chris Bull &#8211; Vocals\/Guitar, Michael Grice &#8211; Guitar, Duncan Bolton &#8211; Drums) \u2013 who\u2019ve become stalwarts of the city\u2019s live scene since moving there to study. <\/p>\n<p>Debut single \u2018Making Plans\u2019 gained praise from Steve Lamacq, who named City Reign one of his favourite new bands. Two more singles (Out In The Cold &#038; Daybreak) and debut EP \u2018Numbers For Street Names\u2019, further cemented their reputation as a band who stand head and shoulders above the indie landfill. The latter propelled them on a UK tour and led to Clash Magazine asking them to open their inaugural issue launch gig in Manchester, recognising them as one of the best bands on the circuit. <\/p>\n<p>The dream began when Mike Grice (the sexiest ginger haired guitarist since Josh Homme by his own admission) and Chris Bull met at a Ryan Adams gig in their first year of University, the name coming from his \u2018City Rain, City Streets\u2019 track. The two hit it off, bonding over a love of Adams, R.E.M, The National, and the mutual opinion that being in a band was the only way to be. <\/p>\n<p>Their first break came as final year students when as a 21st birthday present Chris\u2019 cousin got them time at Metropolis studio where she was working. Although the session got moved a few times because The Black Eyed Peas had rolled up, eventually they came out with \u2018Daybreak\u2019 and \u2018Stay Where You Are\u2019, two of the album\u2019s finer moments which mix the self-assurance of early Oasis with their own inimitable anthemic hooks. \u201cAfter it was done we drove across London with a car full of gear and a two track CD on loop, neither of us saying anything, just beaming because we were so proud. Every time I record now I say if I die tomorrow I\u2019ll be happy because I\u2019ve done that,\u201d says Chris.<\/p>\n<p>The recording of \u2018Another Step\u2019 took place in Salford\u2019s Sacred Trinity Church, a sublime setting with free reverb coming via the stone walls and high ceiling. Upcoming Mancunian producer Sam Jones (Alex Turner) was at the helm, pushing the band to the limit. The result is an incredible album in which every note, every riff, every coruscating cymbal crash is an affirmation of what it means to be alive, from a group who only feel that way making music.<\/p>\n<p>Recent single \u2018Ahead Of Ideas\u2019 is Chris\u2019 most heart on a sleeve song, a lyrical outpouring of both hope and despair, contemplating the highs and lows experienced so far, while building to a musical crescendo that answers any doubts with a string quartet and waves of iridescent guitars. The final line, \u2018I think I\u2019ve found what I was looking for\u2019, fits perfectly on one of their finest moments to date. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor the outro I remember saying to the producer \u2018this song needs more chaos\u2019 and I started bashing the church organ, playing really random notes. I had my headphones on and I couldn\u2019t hear it. I was just thinking this\u2019ll sound like jazz. It\u2019ll be great. I turned around and the string quartet had just turned up and looked baffled. These super-talented, classically trained, proper musicians had been listening to this cacophonous mess for the last two minutes,\u201d says Mike. <\/p>\n<p>The quartet also feature on \u2018Retaliate\u2019, an intimate moment which instantly leaps out on first listen for its stripped-back openness \u2013 a real emotive track in which electric guitars are left behind. It\u2019s an outstanding highlight which almost didn\u2019t occur: \u201cWe had the recording session interrupted by a funeral,\u201d laugh\u2019s Mike. \u201cA couple of old blokes walked into the church with an invitation to a memorial. It turned out the priest had double-booked it!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Luckily everything made it onto the album, the unrelenting energy behind \u2018Anchor\u2019, the screeching guitar riffs of \u2018Making Plans\u2019, and the pounding drum march on \u2018The Line\u2019. This is indie done properly, like it used to be, made by people who live the music, not some disaffected hipsters. <\/p>\n<p>For City Reign it was simple, either \u2018get up every morning, go out and work hard for the things you don\u2019t love\u2019, as sung on \u2018See What It\u2019s Worth\u2019, or take heed of \u2018Ahead Of Ideas\u2019\u2019 lyrics \u2013 \u201cFill your heart full of conviction and take to the stage.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>www.cityreign.net<br \/>\nwww.facebook.com\/cityreign<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u2018A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step\u2019, said ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu. We all have dreams to conquer but few of us have the nerve to put fear aside and chase them by making that first move. Meet Manchester four-piece City Reign. Their full-length debut, \u2018Another Step\u2019, is a landmark [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":295,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2263","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press_releases"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.livestagemusic.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2263","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.livestagemusic.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.livestagemusic.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.livestagemusic.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/295"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.livestagemusic.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2263"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.livestagemusic.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2263\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.livestagemusic.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2263"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.livestagemusic.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2263"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.livestagemusic.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2263"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}