The City and Horses released their 4th full length album, Ruins, back in April via Paper Garden Records to critical acclaim. Today we are happy to premiere the six-piece band’s latest music video for Ruins track “Drag”.
The City and Horses, split with members in NYC and Philadelphia, have earned plenty of praise over their 4 albums for their melodic and hook-filled indie rock sound. The moody songs are flanked by frontman Marc Cantone’s deeply personal lyrics that revolve around breakups and struggles with OCD. By day, Cantone is a television producer for children’s programing, but outside of that he’s become known as vocal supporter of mental health rights and issues. It’s in The City and Horses’ music that Cantone is able to take his platform and lend a helping hand for those struggling with mental issues. RUINS is about a love triangle between Marc, an ex-girlfriend and his OCD. The music of City and Horses has always been a place for listeners in a funk to work out their own struggles through the band’s songs, knowing that someone else is going through something similar.
On “Drag”, the group’s hooks and generally upbeat melodies keep the somber listener in an optimistic mood where you just want to sing along with the band to get out of whatever funk is dragging you through life. Despite the drab lyrics, there is a real uplifting quality to the song that’s hard to ignore. Said Marc Cantone on the video: “The song ‘Drag’ is about how I’m almost literally dragged from place to place by the insatiable compulsion to perform rituals to satisfy my OCD. So the video is basically that. Me being dragged around the streets of Bushwick on my back. It was directed by Micah Weisberg and Bill Dvorak of Youngheart Productions.”
We are happy to share The City and Horses new music video for Ruins track “Drag” below. And for some bonus insight into the band, Marc Cantone was nice enough to share 5 songs he’s currently been digging for our Monomania playlist below. Check out what Marc had to say on each song below. Happy listening!
Check out Marc Cantone’s picks for our Monomania Spotify Playlist and listen below:
The Spinto Band – “Muesli”
I have a list of songs that I wish I had written and this is one of them. The Spinto Band (and their side project Teen Men) are masters of melody and opaque lyrics. This song is the perfect combination of both. Within seconds an indie pop version of Caribbean music grabs picks you up and swings you into a hammock hanging somewhere in Bushwick.
White Shoes and The Couples Company – “Matahari”
Almost like the Indonesian version of The Spinto Band, WSATCC are effortless producers of melodies that just don’t quit (count the number of melodies they layer on top of each other in this song without clashing and you’ll be astounded). While most of their songs are sung in Indonesian, this is mostly sung in English and, from what I can gather, about a place (possibly in Kenya) that is a source abundant relaxation for the girls and boys in the band. I’m not certain where it is or how to get there but it sounds like a place where I could take a good nap.
The Chi-Lites – “Oh Girl”
It’s easy to tell from this list that I’m a sucker for songs with instantly gratifying melodies. And this is one of those songs. I defy anyone not to float away on the first “oooohhhh, girl.” Throw in the sentiment of stupidly blowing a good relationship and you have a recipe for a classic. We’ve actually started covering this song in our own nerdy, indie pop style (see this video of my friend, playwright Matt Schatz and I nerdifying it – https://www.instagram.com/p/
BR0wak5luyG/) and have decided to include it on a covers EP of old R&B songs. Let the groaning begin.
Possum Dixon – “Radio Comets”
The most under appreciated band of the 90s is Possum Dixon. They either came a little too late or a little too early but for whatever reason they never caught on. If they had arrived in the early 2000s when that Franz Ferdinand type of quirky, jittery guitar driven pop was in vogue, they would’ve been huge. At any rate, continuing my theme of appreciation for infectious melodies and literate lyrics, this song should’ve been a radio comet hit.
Rita Lee – “Ando Jururu”
This is off Rita Lee’s first record with backing band Tutti Frutti and it moves from the traditional psychedelia of Os Mutantes and into swaggering, glam rock territory. I picture a group of long haired, cig smoking Brazilians holed up late at night in a dimly lit studio effortlessly cranking out sludgy rock music. I’m too short to be that cool. – Marc Cantone (The City and Horses)
Listen to The City and Horses contribution to our Monomania Spotify playlist (30 songs total at a time) below:
