Tuesday 22 February 2011



That’s where it’s at, Sam

QBiM SPiNS Temporary Resident by Imaginary Cities

Musical history is littered with examples of divinely inspired musical pairings (Lennon/McCartney and Morrissey/Marr are just a couple of the obvious) that just can’t help but work.  You can add to that long list Rusty Matyas and Marti Sarbit, instrumentalist and vocalist respectively in Winnipeg’s Imaginary Cities.  My evidence to support the claim of musical alchemy is their debut album, Temporary Resident.  It’s a timeless, and time-crossing collection of songs that effortlessly bounces around the musical universe, at times reminding me of trashy synth pop like Gossip and then on the very next track recalling classic Motown soul, before bouncing into big bright 80s indie pop on the next.

At the centre of it all is Sarbit and her sultry vocals; “Calm Before the Storm” allows her to flex her way through her registers, moving effortlessly through highs and lows without ever once losing step.  As chief songwriter, Matyas is responsible for creating the perfect musical settings to showcase his partner’s talents, and he’s more than up to it.  I get the sense that with each rehearsal, writing session, Matyas and Sarbit were pushing and inspiring each other to go further, try something different.  That kind of creative push and pull is all over Temporary Resident.

Imaginary Cities’ Temporary Resident is released today on Hidden Pony Records.

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by J. Di Gioia | Comments Off

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 22nd, 2011 at 8:35 am and is filed under QBiM SPiNS, ViDEO. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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