City On Down - Used To Be Young EP

Showcasing your music, whether you have some sort of a ‘regular’ recording contract or not these days has become like wandering through a maze with no exit. Not that choices aren't there, actually, there is so many of them that they only muddle the picture. With all the possibilities that Spotify, Bandcamp and Soundcloud offer, with MySpace and Last FM slowly withering away, many emerging artists these days opt for ReverbNation as their preferred outlet. Very solid viewing numbers seem to support their decision.

Such one band are Charleston, South Carolina quartet City On Down, who are currently showcasing their latest EP Used To Be Young. The five songs that make up the EP also seem to follow as many modern musical trends aimed at consistent radio play, or should I say streaming, these days. As could be expected, some of these combinations work better than others.

The opener “Sunday Rain” is actually the best track here, sounding like a mix of a current singer/songwriter ballad and a slowed down emo track, the piano theme and background sax being the nice touches here. A close second is the title tune “Used To Be Young”, with an almost modern country progression and an Edge-inspired guitar sound.

The closer “On My Way” is somewhere in the middle ground and indicates that U2 records play a large part in the band’s record collection. The remaining two tracks, “All On You” and “I Am Not My Past” lag behind and indicate that City On Down is still in search for their true sound. The former track is their reach into pop/dance territory and sounds like almost any other, while the latter is using the same electronic trick for another pop/dance outing, not completely saved by the introduction of female vocals.

The key is that the band has obvious potential but needs to decide which of these current trends it wants to follow. Sometimes all at the same time will not do the trick.