Alexis(not)onfire

Like the water element to the fire, Dallas Green is like the old soul that has had enough of screamo rock. He took down the gothic posters from the walls and settled for the plain plaster-torn emptiness that surrounds him, sold off the bass and drums and amps, and bought himself a harmonica, banjo and an acoustic guitar.

For people who have heard of Alexisonfire, you would have recognised Dallas Green smoothing up George Pettit’s aura-breaking screams, like Mike Shinoda would for Chester Bennington’s. (OK, fine, that was a bad example, but you get what I mean). And it was a total 360 when he started his side project City and Colour.

Gone were the angry shrieks and complicated drum and guitar choreographs. All that is left was Green’s honeycombed voice. Everything is stripped down bare. In Bring Me Your Love, you could still hear the clumsy preparation of opening the guitar case and settling down on a high chair. His lyrics are nothing flowery or outstanding, his riffs nothing but acoustical picks, yet his voice managed to bring out the simple honesty that burns between the lines, between the notes. And that is what I like about him. A guitar and a voice, and Green still managed to make my heart ache.

Here is one for the ladies, just in case your man has not the guts to tell you this. Don’t be too hard on them; it is not easy for them to bare it all like that – at least Green has done most of the part for them.

Download The Girl HERE.