Ten City Nation At the Still Point I like Ten City Nation. Obviously that has something to do with their
music, but its also helped by the fact that up until now theyve
given it all away, which has always been a pretty effective means to
try to win me over. I originally discovered them through REPEAT Records,
a small label attached to a Manic Street Preachers-inspired mini
zine. Ten City Nations self-titled debut album, the single
Exhibition Time Again and a small selection of live tracks
all got a listen from me because of that alluring freeness, and their
music has proved entertaining enough in the past for me to quickly decide
to investigate further once I realised that this second album, At the
Still Point, was on the way. What Ten City Nation have going for them here is that they play solid
songs in a raw, earnest way. Theyre not driving their genre forwards
leaps and bounds, but as their guitars growl and as their singer vocalizes
slightly amatuerishly over them, theres something involving and
grimly inviting about everything they do. Its helped by that warm,
crude recording and production, too. Yes, A Butcher in Silks
may be driven by an almost worryingly familiar riff (is it just like
a Nirvana one, I ask myself
) but its never to the detrimental
to the song. The best moments come quite frequently, from the gripping
instrumental climax of Silent Disco to the confident swagger
and blistering finale of Battle Lost Battle Found. Gradually
developing, Ten City Nation are an uncommonly naturalistic and gritty
band in this day and age and freeness or no freeness, are well worth
a listen. By Andy Johnson on The Line of Best Fit Buy At The Still Point here |