Sister City: Carbon Footprint

I was just thinking...


I have been a failure as a blog writer. But that all changes TODAY. I have worked in to my class schedule two times a week for me to post to my blog. This will allow me and force me to write a post weekly in each of my blogs. (This one and my baseball blog, http://trotscap.blogspot.com/ ) My first blog post of the semester (and first since January) is my review of good friend Adam Linder's band Sister City's (http://sistercityband.com/) LP entitled Carbon Footprint.

Carbon Footprint was released in June 2011. Check it out and download here. I listened to it for what seemed like three straight weeks, not including breaks in which I pretended to be a productive member of society and worked at the Clark University Mail room and interned at the famous Worcester Magazine. So, it is only fitting that I would not get around to writing the review until the last day of August, the second day of the semester.

Let me start off with a little background on my connection with Adam Linder and Sister City. The first time I met Adam was my freshman year at Clark, at what is known as "Freud's Open Mic Night." (Sigmund Freud held a bunch of talks at Clark during his one trip to the United States. He must have loved it, because he never came back. Clark still is very proud of his visitation, and doesn't let you forget it.) I was a lowly freshman who didn't really know anyone, but I wanted to see some music played, see what the whole open mic scene was all about. I had sat by myself and quietly ate my food and watched the acts until Adam came up, with his omniscient acoustic guitar and began playing a few songs. I liked what he was playing, but they were all originals thus far, so I couldn't sing along or anything. Then, he started playing some Against Me! songs. If you know me at all, you know I am a) a huge sucker for anything acoustic (lyric cred: Brand New), b) I love Against Me! and c) Against Me!'s acoustic albums is one my favorite albums of all time. So, when "Those Anarcho-Punks Are Mysterious..." or whichever song it was, started playing, I was instantly hooked. This kid had the vocal range and talent to play songs that I knew and loved, and do it well.

Naturally, after the first night of hearing Adam play a bunch of great covers, I started listening to his original work. It turns out, all those musicians with the great, heartfelt lyricism for songs that I loved also had influenced Adam; we had similar tastes in music, and he, unlike me, could actually make some of that music! So, he had the genre down, and the musical ability. The last remaining part was the lyricism, and boy oh boy, is the man a poet!

I do not throw this kind of praise around regularly, so believe me when I say that Adam Linder writes the best lyrics out of anyone I have ever personally met. I know there are people out there who dislike his lyrics, call them depressing, etc. etc., but I find them to be perfect. There's an old saying, or something, that says that in order to be a real artist you need to suffer. While I don't think Adam has per se "suffered," I think he has pretty clearly dealt with difficult things, and he is able to real do justice to his feelings with his lyrics, which really are poetry. The struggles the Adam faces are real and relatable, especially for the now-college-age-but-formerly-angsty/punk-teen like me. I think that anyone that does not appreciate Adam's song writing talent has not tried hard enough.

Now, to the album itself. My first time listening to it I already knew I liked it. I'd never really heard Adam's electric stuff, at least not recorded, so this was a new angle to approach his music from. I immediately got the feel that this album remained true to Adam, and was influenced heavily by bands like Brand New, The Gaslight Anthem and Against Me! I even heard a little of the angrier Say Anything working it's way in (although I'm not sure how Adam will feel about that).

I will break down specific songs, one by one here. Each song is really it's own entity, so I think I wouldn't be doing the album justice if I didn't.

1. Hit Too Hard
The perfect opening to this album. This song's introduction really sets the tone, with the last lyric before the music comes in espousing that his "head was pounding for the human race."
The refrain of "and I drop to my knees" wonderfully shows the true feeling and passion behind the song, and the album as a whole. Adam wears his heart on his sleeve, and he wears it well. This song is, I believe the epitome of Sister City.

2. 20
This song I had heard a couple times before. This one is about growing up, and was written on Adam's 20th birthday. Vintage Adam/Sister City.

3. Some Prefer Nettles
I immediately get a Hot Water Music feeling from the opening of this song, but then it plunges right into being  a distinctly Sister City song, with a nice blend of guitar progressions and great lyrics.
"There's a formula I follow...but you should stick like glue to what or who you know; BUT WHO AM I TO GIVE ADVICE?" begs the song.

4. Imperative
Emily Dickinson would have written this song, had she been a twenty-something punk/indie musician. And that is absolutely a compliment, Emily was one of the best poets of all time. She also spent almost no time outside of her own bedroom, a theme that this song explores (at least not going outside on one day).

5. Poland, 1945
This is one of my favorite songs on the album. This song explores the aspect of life of not living up to what your ancestors have done, and struggle I believe plagues many, many people. As the liner notes suggest, there's a lot of NOFX influence going on here, with the guitar parts and quick drums. If you're like me, you can relate to not wanting to wake up for an important day, although you need to; adapting to mainstream societal norms is a weird thing to deal with.

6. Going To Pinneburg
Oh hi there, band name meaning. Pinneburg, Germany is one of a few sister cities of Rockville, MD, Sister City's hometown. This song starts out slow and picks up almost (if not exactly) halfway through the song. The repetition of "One day I'll know what I don't" finishes of the song, which expounds upon the dualism of  helplessness and hope for the future that seems to be Adam's mantra.

7. Ellis Island Blues
This may be my favorite song on the album. The exploration of the sad situation faced by those in Europe who faced persecution in one way or another and were given basically two options, stay, or get on some dirty, overcrowded boat to a (hopefully) better life for them and their offspring. Like "Poland, 1945," the song espouses that he feels that he is not doing justice to the struggles his ancestors faced for him to have the life he does. "If my great-great grandparents had only known/That their great-great grandson/Would end up turning people into stone."

8. Cartoon Movies
I honestly have no clue how to even begin to describe this song. Adam is Moses, the song is great. That's all I got for ya on this one.

9. Reinventing Adm Linder
The title of this song is obviously an homage to the best Against Me! album of all time, "Reinventing Axl Rose." There is also a song of the same name. So, this song directly connects my beginnings with Adam to him now. It's a freaking phenomenally written song, all the way around. This song is the quintessential Adam Linder, like the song's title kind of suggests. "If I may be so bold, to assume that I'll grow old." Oh, Sister City, you're so Sister City.

10. Eff That
This is the song that was written the longest time ago, and it is kind of noticeable. There is much more teenage angst in this song than some of the others. The quick drums and screaming parts speak to my more emo leanings, which I do enjoy returning to, from time to time. Good stuff.

11. Big And Small Words
"I start slow, but speed up as I go," one of the lyrics, does explain the song itself. This is a real quality jam that I find difficult not to bop my head to. That's right, bop.

12. How Much
Catharsis much? This Brand New-esque song is absolutely the best song this album could have ended on. In fact, I think each song was perfectly placed in it's spot on the album. "I want to know what I don't know" harks back to "Going To Pinneburg" and this song really does tie the album together. It's kind of an epic conclusion to a heartfelt battle of passionate feelings over forty-five minutes.

I really do appreciate this album and that is on a few levels: I like the genre; I love the lyrics; as a punk music fan, I think the vocals actually do work quite well with the music; I find it catchy and head bop-able; I also am a big fan of good poetry, which this album definitely is full of (12 poems, to be exact).

I highly recommend at the very least giving this album a listen through. More people than not would actually really like it and want a copy for themselves. If you value my opinion at all (which I assume you do, since you're reading), listen when I say: This is a high quality album with some great tunes.


Carbon Footprint definitely makes my list of Best Albums by Local/Underground/Indie artists.