Review: “Montage” – City Rain

If there’s one word to describe City Rain’s new EP, “Montage,” it’s anthemic. While the hooks and bridges may cause memories of Passion Pit’s jauntiest tunes to surface, the lyrics and gentle encouragement of “Montage” definitely move it into its own niche. Runyan and Zerrer have created something special, deftly weaving synths, auto–tuned voices and traditional guitars into mosaics of personal clarity. The titular track opens the EP nicely, and as it segues into the loose beginning of “Big Boys Do Cry” and brooding croon of “Hearts on Fire,” it can be easy to lose yourself. That being said, some of the tracks can be marginally too–long, and the nature of electro–pop can cause headaches at high volume. But “Montage” is a solid offering not to be missed by either newcomers or veterans of the genre.

4/5 Stars