Mobile — Tales From The City

Tales From The City

Universal

Sheena Lyonnais (CHARTattack)

12/18/2008 2:50pm

I've always thought Mobile were like a Montreal version of The Bravery. This may sound like I've been spending too much time at Toronto's Dance Cave drinking gin and soda and bustin' moves all night, but if you listen to this sophomore release alongside The Bravery's The Sun And The Moon, you'll see why. Like The Bravery, Mobile follows a simple method for success: rock first, dance second. They know their sound and they've used it to master the balance between feeding mainstream radio and fueling indie kid playlists. The songs are solid but rough and dark around the edges. They reek of cigarette smoke, sex with New York rocker girls and minimal amounts of sleep. The topics are deeper and more introspective than on their debut and play off human emotions that go beyond love and loss. Songs like "Mother" pull on the heartstrings while transcending the notion that love songs are always about marital relationships. Closing track "All Is Forgiven (Parts I-II-III)" is a rarity, clocking in at more than seven minutes. It serves as a gorgeous, thoughtful reflection on life that fades out to noise. Tales From The City is the story of Mobile's lives so far. It succeeds in making fans rock out, dance and sometimes cry alongside them.