Album Review: City Riots - Sea Of Bright Lights

As far as debut statements go, you can do a hell of a lot worse than City Riots' Sea Of Bright Lights. Coming off some well received initial EPs, the South Australian foursome looked to take things to another level with their first album, decamping to a shack by the Murray River to write much of the material here. The result is a quality summery indie-pop record that hits some great highs, although it may not quite be the finished article.

The first thing one notices here is how good the album sounds. Indeed everything is crystal clear thanks to Paul Annison's quality production work and this allows the band to successfully layer instrument upon instrument as they build some interesting soundscapes. Opener, Turn, is a good example of this as the album begins very strongly, while Wait For You and Closer are real highlights as some shimmering waves of guitars are unleashed. Ricky Kradolfer's breathy vocals also sound particularly on point on Back To Normal and the more moody Pirates. The problem here is that while the audio is wonderful, not many of the tracks stray from the formula. Instead, almost all the songs are primarily mid-tempo-based pop rockers that look to the '80s for a nostalgic vibe. And, while that approach is pretty successful here, some of the tracks tend to blend into each other a little, lessening their impact. But the fact there are a few elements to work with is no bad thing for a debut record. As it is, Sea Of Bright Lights provides a really impressive and ambitious opening statement from a band that looks like they have one very bright future ahead.