Tonight, The City Skyline – Nothing Will Be The Same
Record Label: Unsigned
Release Date: April 19, 2011
Little confession: I have never had a girlfriend (not yet, anyway). Due to my being preoccupied with other things, my lack of romantic experience usually isn’t something I dwell on for very long. Every so often, though, I’ll witness a moment of intimacy in some of the most unexpected settings: a warm embrace in a school hallway, a brief smooch on the sidewalk, a pair of hands locked in unity in a dark theater. It’s those moments that remind me that the world, large as it may be, is comprised of these little treasures, these life sparks.
Then again, sometimes sparks lead to forest fires.
I do not know whether Martin Moore Jr., lead singer of Tonight, The City Skyline, has…ahem, experiences with burns, but the story told here is a compelling tale that’s old as time. All you need to know about Nothing Will Be The Same is the title; it’s an album centered around the hits we take for love—and the process of healing again.
The first track doesn’t even need lyrics to set the mood: it’s soothing yet subtly mournful. From the second track on, though, the album dispenses with any form of subtext—the lyrics here are pointedly direct, and though at times they read a bit too earnestly, that same honesty brings the story even closer to the listener. It helps that Moore’s vocal performance never oversells the emotion; “Nothing will ever be the same / Some things just never seem to change,” he laments, and though that’s a paradox, it’s one most listeners will be all too familiar with.
Tonight, The City Skyline’s vibe is surprisingly bright, even when the themes get dark. The Morning is a rousing wake-up call that slowly builds on a sturdy drum beat to an almost Coldplay-esque apex, a full-blown cascade of instruments tumbling over one another. Mantra For A Dark Lit December’s brisk pace and powerful melodies are its main selling points, and Already Gone, while the only forgettable song on the album, is still carried by its energy throughout. It’s a testament to the band’s talent that the music never plods, even on slower tracks—Here Is Nowhere is the only ballad to be found here, and it’s a fragile beauty that relies on its barrenness for its emotional impact.
In the end, it’s closer (For You) This Is The End that may sum up Tonight The City Skyline’s dual message of regrets and redemption: it’s a stark, raw finale to an album deserving of no less. “And we live for a moment / we all live for the moment / and we live for a moment or two”: we get stung when we care. If we didn’t, there wouldn’t be a point to caring. But since we all live for the moment, as Nothing Will Ever Be The Same reminds us, we reel for a while, but then we lick our wounds and jump back into the fray, seeking that elusive moment of nirvana one more time.
Dude sounds like the guy from Every Avenue. The album was good but a bit too forgettable tbh.
I can see that being a complaint, but there are definitely some standouts here (right now The Morning is my favorite, but it'll probably change again when I listen some more).
Why is this review listed as "Tonight, City Skyline, The - ..."
That is ridiculous and confusing. There is no need to put revert "The" and a comma to the end of the name. That is done in lists only when "The" is the at the beginning of a name. Here, it is in the middle.
This better not be one of those new hipster fucking grammatical trends that make me want to drown myself.
Why is this review listed as "Tonight, City Skyline, The - ..."
That is ridiculous and confusing. There is no need to put revert "The" and a comma to the end of the name. That is done in lists only when "The" is the at the beginning of a name. Here, it is in the middle.
This better not be one of those new hipster fucking grammatical trends that make me want to drown myself.
I wasn't the one who formatted it that way, and it's fixed now.
Browse Reviews
Write a Review
Alphabetized Listing
Popular Reviews
Best New Music
View Artist Profile
View News Articles
Stream the Music
Buy the Album or MP3s
View Profile Picture
View Signature
Posts: 266
View Blog
Follow This Review
More Reviews By This Author