We Are The City

2014 proved to be quite the year for We Are The City.  After wrapping their first feature-length film Violent in Norway earlier in the year, We Are The City went on to tour in Europe with Aidan Knight, showcase at SXSW, Reeperbahn and TIFF, perform at Squamish as well as various shows throughout Canada and the US.  Upon the return to their hometown province of British Columbia in late September they premiered Violent as part of the Vancouver International Film Fest, where they ended up taking home Best BC Film and Best Canadian Film. The film was selected as one of Canada's Top 10 Films by the Toronto International Film Festival, and won the Signis Award at the Amiens International Film Festival in France.  Most recently, it received Best First Film by a Canadian Director and Best BC Film from the Vancouver Film Critics Circle.

Violent was written by We Are the City and filmed by Vancouver's Amazing Factory Productions in Norway.  With a script penned entirely in Norwegian despite the fact that the band members didn't speak the language, this subtitled film is a companion piece to the record; the score utilizes melodic motifs from the songs, while the story shares themes with the lyrics.  The film goes as a companion to the record, but it's not a must-have.  They both stand alone.

The trio of high school friends Cayne McKenzie (vocals/keyboards),  Andrew Huculiak (drums), and David Menzel (guitar) are onto the next phase of Violent, and that's promoting the sophomore album of the same name.

Violent is an album of soaring highs and hushed comedowns, with dense syncopations going toe-to-toe with noise-soaked crescendos and delicate pop melodies.  Produced by Tom Dobrzanski (Said The Whale, The Zolas, Hey Ocean) at his newly constructed Monarch Studios; King David moves from aggressive distortion to gentle acoustic plucking to swirling ambience, while Bottom of the Lake places marimba tinkles atop a gritty guitar backdrop, and the cerebral Baptism builds towards the album's most thunderous climax.

We Are the City's restless sense of artistry has led the musicians through years of self-discovery as they have continued to strive for the next creative peak.  There's no question that the journey has been worthwhile.