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It's time to glue a pair of wings to your back and take aim for the sun with The City Lights' brand new album 'El Sol'.

The follow-up to the band's debut album 'Escape From Tomorrow Today' is bigger, brighter and warmer than its predecessor, and comes compliments of one of the tightest rock n roll gangs in town, boasting members who moonlight in some of this country's finest bands.

Original City Lights, James and Harry Roden and Danny Allen (Youth Group) are joined by Bruno Brayovic (Peabody), Kit Warhurst (Rocket Science) and Graeme Trewin (ex-Peabody) on 'El Sol'. It's a rock collective like no other but better still, it's a group of friends who are all music nuts and exceptional players.

Says James: "Bruno is an unbelievably good guitarist. Danny is not a trained guitarist but has fantastic music taste and since he isn’t a guitarist thinks about the guitar in a unique way. Harry I reckon is the best bass player in the country but nobody notices. Have a listen to his runs. He is as good as The Ox (John Entwistle RIP) from The Who and nobody says a word. Kit is in a league of his own on the drums. And Graeme on his drums is an absolute powerhouse."

James, who formed the band with his brother Harry in early 2002, says that despite the array of talent on parade, The City Lights is a collective devoid of competitive ego, with each member playing a massively important role in the band.

"I've always grown up loving bands that were a gang, rather than a collection of knobs behind a front man or a collection of knobs trying to be the front man."

And so as a gang of six, The City Lights hit the studio to record 'El Sol', an album influenced by a rollicking tour of Spain that helped the band to "see a new world in the old world", and accompanied the release of 'Escape From Tomorrow Today' on Bittersweet Recordings (You Am I, Radio Birdman, The Bellrays, Sloan) there. They recorded for 10 days straight at Big Jesus Burger in Sydney's Surry Hills, opting for tape over Pro-Tools, and with a host of honorary City Lights dropping by to add extra touches, like organ, piano and horns.

David 'Trumpy' Trump (The Church, Big Heavy Stuff, Peabody, Bluebottle Kiss) helmed the desk, and along with assistant engineer Simon Berckelman, was forced to wear a white lab coat while working on the record. Why? "Because they are musical scientists," says James. "They are engineers. People forget that. They are not in the band and are not our friends. They are there to work. The coats add an air of professionalism. Mainly though, we just thought it was funny and they looked good."

Enjoying their time in the studio was tantamount to the success of the recording process, and is something of a reflection on the tour of Spain that influenced the entire album.

"That tour changed the band’s life," says James. "It gave us a massive amount of confidence. It put us all in a van for a great length of time, and you can’t put a price on that for getting the band to be tighter as friends and as a musical unit. We loved Spain. The bars are fantastic, the attitude to life and to rock - they love it and that enthusiasm is infectious." The album's title – Spanish for 'The Sun' – is one of the obvious nods in Spain's direction, not least of which because it's the name of a venue that the band played in over there that James remembers fondly... or at least attempts to remember fondly.

"We played a brilliant gig there... up until the point I had to be carried home from overdoing the medicinal use of throat saving whiskey."

References to the sun are also scattered throughout the record, beginning with the album's opener, the shimmering 'Take A Picture Of The Sun', which kicks off proceedings on a warm note, resplendent in its simple use of guitars and vocals only. First single 'Everyone Out' is up next, and bolts from the stalls to remind you that you need to get up off your arse and do something. A frenzied political stomper, it'll grab you by the scruff of the neck and shake you around before burying itself neatly in that space between your ears reserved for good things.

'Here To Stay' is another stand-out track on the record. Anyone publicly doubting a band's longevity should take into account that artistic longevity is a constraint invented by critics not artists. They should also contend with songs like 'Here To Stay' as a public retort. James Roden holds a special kind of vitriol for the subject in question, almost as if lurking outside the critic's window, never letting him forget what was once said. His vocal delivery and the lyrics, along with Graeme Trewin's ferocious drumming and the dual-solos of Bruno Brayovic and Danny Allen, makes this one of the highlights on El Sol.

'Grand Pacific Son', a track penned by Harry Roden, apparently took two years to write because he became so obsessive over it. And that obsession didn't end with the writing either, spilling over into the studio with Harry taking over lead guitar and lead vocal duties (relegating James to bass and Bruno to rhythm). The outro lead line was one which Harry re-recorded in the studio no less than seven times. The band had to almost restrain him from giving it "just one more go". But that didn't stop him. Bruno arrived early one morning to find Harry had arrived even earlier to "give it just one more go" with engineer Dave Trump. He was well justified of course as the magic of that song proves.

Interestingly, the super catchy 'Get Steady' was written around eight years ago by James, along with and Richard Weinman and Pete Lusty from his old band The John Reed Club. It was never properly finished or recorded, so James took the liberty to finish it off at last for 'El Sol', and it just goes to prove that brilliant music will always stand the test of time.

El Sol RELEASED: 18-08-2007 The new album from Australia's kick arse rock collective follows their critically acclaimed debut 'Escape From Tomorrow Today'. On 'El Sol', original members, brothers James and Harry Roden and Danny Allen (Youth Group), are joined by Bruno Brayovic (Peabody), Kit Warhurst (Rocket Science) and Graeme Trewin (ex-Peabody), which makes The City Lights one hell of a band to be reckoned with. 1. Take A Picture Of The Sun 2. Everyone Out 3. Got The News Today 4. Spy Theme 2 5. Here To Stay 6. Grand Pacific Son 7. Get Steady 8. Anyone Who Is Anyone 9. Spy Theme 3 10. Never Let You Go 11. You Ain't Heard The Last Of Us

Escape From Tomorrow Today RELEASED: 17-05-2004 Out Now ... This is undeniably right…." **** - Rolling Stone "The kind of melodies that will be swimming in your head all day" **** - Daily Telegraph "Taking cues from classic songwriters Paul Weller, the Kink’s Ray Davies and our very own Vanda & Young" **** - Herald sun TRIPLE J ALBUM OF THE WEEK 4ZZZ ALBUM OF THE WEEK 3PBS ALBUM OF THE WEEK 1. Intro 2. What Are You Gonna Do? 3. You Stand Accused Young Man 4. New World Record 5. Every Single Day 6. Without You 7. So Here We Go Again 8. A Big Star 9. No End In Sight 10. Pictures Of You 11. Curse On Everyone 12. Escape From Tomorrow Today

What You Gonna Do? - EP RELEASED: 05-04-2004 Saturated airplay across the airwaves at Triple J/community radio and Nova - 'What You Gonna Do?' follows on from the success of the The City Lights' debut single 'Curse On Everyone (Hey! Hey! Hey!) / You Stand Accused Young Man' which were also both added instantly to high rotation on Triple J. The past two years the band have built a strong live following - opening for some of music's shiniest diamonds including: Rocket Science, The Vines, You Am I, The Breeders, Jet, The Dirtbombs, The Mess Hall and The Music. The list goes on: Ground Components, The Anyones, Peabody, Dallas Crane plus a slot at the Sydney Big Day Out in January 2004. The stompin' sounds of 'What You Gonna Do?' pays tribute to great bass lines and primal beats - The Who, Primal Scream and Curtis Mayfield. It also features 3 b-sides, one original - 'She don't even know my name' and two covers recorded in the band's rehearsal room live. 'Communist Radio' is the legendary lost single by 70s US punk band The Eat and "Wild Man" by 1960s nuggets compilation legends The Tamrons. The single also includes the video for 'What You Gonna Do?'. Saturated with infectious pop sensibilities 'What You Gonna Do?' is the perfect rock n roll tonic for famished music lovers. OUT NOW!

Curse On Everyone RELEASED: 09-09-2003 A high octane band with an unleaded heart, The City Lights are equal parts melody and rough edges. Their tough Ernest Hemmingway exterior hides a Jamie Oliver style soft side, if not his ability in the kitchen. Anyway.... for the sake of argument let's say they sound something like The Who and Soundtrack of Our Lives and leave it the rest up to you. The double A-Side Curse On Everyone and You Stand Accused Young Man single is, well, it's great, and is taken from their debut album 'Escape From Tomorrow Today' which is out now.