The term ,supergroup" is thrown around way to carelessly these days. But with even a bit of experience in the Underground-Hardcore-Scene, one absolutely has to classify Open City as a true all-star-unit. On their self-titled debut album the four piece - with members Dan Yemin (Paint It Black, Lifetime, Kid Dynamite), Andy Nelson (Ceremony, Paint It Black), Rachel Wilson (Bridge & Tunnel, Worriers) and Chris Wilson (Ted Leo & The Pharmacists) - merges the influences of their respective main acts, blending them into a vibrant and pissed-off profile of American Hardcore. ,For Shame" f.e. combines menacing midtempo staccato riffs and Wilson's diverse vocals with lyrics about degrading pick-up lines. In ,Black Veils" Wilson channels a rougher version of the Post-Hardcore of her former band Bridge & Tunnel, while ,Brother, I'm Getting Nowhere" amalgamates 90s-Melodic-Hardcore-Grooves with dynamic doubletime outbursts, reminiscent of Lifetime or Paint It Black. The varied record was produced by underground-icon Will Yip (Nothing, Citizen, Title Fight, Pianos Become The Teeth), helping the band to achieve a rough yet very defined sound. Political, pissed off and socio-critical, but at the same time with the right amount of melody: the debut of Open City promises to shure hit the scene like a bomb.
