Music
Press
“…They made a whole album of murky, spirited blues. The songs, which the band debuted on the road this summer, toggle between anthemic and psalmic, with Sarbit’s spooky yowl binding them all together.” - Paste Magazine
“…They made a whole album of murky, spirited blues. The songs, which the band debuted on the road this summer, toggle between anthemic and psalmic, with Sarbit’s spooky yowl binding them all together.” - Paste Magazine
"I fucking love this band" - Grant Lawrence CBC Radio 3. - radio
"I fucking love this band" - Grant Lawrence CBC Radio 3. - radio
Disc Reviews
NOW Rating N N N N 4/5
Disc Review
Imaginary Cities
Temporary Resident (independent)
By Carla Gillis
Multi-instrumentalist Rusty Matyas has had his hand in countless Winnipeg indie rock bands over the last decade: the Waking Eyes, Terrier, the Mother Brothers Band, Novillero. (He’s also occasionally played trumpet in Vancouver’s the Salteens.) The duo Imaginary Cities is his newest, and it features standout soulful vocalist Marti Sarbit.
On this preview EP of their impending debut full-length, Matyas hops from guitar to drums to keys to bass to create dynamic indie pop underneath Sarbit’s distinct soaring voice. Hummingbird and Temporary Resident are bright, propulsive indie pop tunes tempered by Sarbit’s bluesy melodies and downbeat lyrics, while Say You is comfortably mellow.
Top track: Temporary Resident
Imaginary Cities play tonight (Thursday, June 17), 7 pm, at the Mod Club and Saturday (June 19), 11 pm, at C’est What as part of NXNE.
NOW | June 17-24, 2010 | VOL 29 NO 42
- NOW (Toronto based Entertainment Magazine)
Disc Reviews
NOW Rating N N N N 4/5
Disc Review
Imaginary Cities
Temporary Resident (independent)
By Carla Gillis
Multi-instrumentalist Rusty Matyas has had his hand in countless Winnipeg indie rock bands over the last decade: the Waking Eyes, Terrier, the Mother Brothers Band, Novillero. (He’s also occasionally played trumpet in Vancouver’s the Salteens.) The duo Imaginary Cities is his newest, and it features standout soulful vocalist Marti Sarbit.
On this preview EP of their impending debut full-length, Matyas hops from guitar to drums to keys to bass to create dynamic indie pop underneath Sarbit’s distinct soaring voice. Hummingbird and Temporary Resident are bright, propulsive indie pop tunes tempered by Sarbit’s bluesy melodies and downbeat lyrics, while Say You is comfortably mellow.
Top track: Temporary Resident
Imaginary Cities play tonight (Thursday, June 17), 7 pm, at the Mod Club and Saturday (June 19), 11 pm, at C’est What as part of NXNE.
NOW | June 17-24, 2010 | VOL 29 NO 42
- NOW (Toronto based Entertainment Magazine)
Torontette’s NXNE hot list
Imaginary Cities: Sounding at once like vintage R&B records and synth-driven, raucous pop rock, their songs are powered by lush, hook-laden choruses and driving verses.
- Torontette
Torontette’s NXNE hot list
Imaginary Cities: Sounding at once like vintage R&B records and synth-driven, raucous pop rock, their songs are powered by lush, hook-laden choruses and driving verses.
- Torontette
NXNE Day Two: Part Two
June 17th, 2010 – Day two of NXNE was jam-packed. I kicked of my evening over at the Mod Club for Imaginary Cities, Young Galaxy, and the Besnard Lakes.
Imaginary Cities put on quite the set, despite the small crowd. Marti’s vocals were captivating and soulful, backed by Rusty on guitar, vocals and trumpet. These guys are great, and I only have good things to say about them. They put on a good live performance and know how to have a good time, so make sure you check them out at C’est What on Saturday (11PM set) before they leave the city!
- TakeTheMedia.com
NXNE Day Two: Part Two
June 17th, 2010 – Day two of NXNE was jam-packed. I kicked of my evening over at the Mod Club for Imaginary Cities, Young Galaxy, and the Besnard Lakes.
Imaginary Cities put on quite the set, despite the small crowd. Marti’s vocals were captivating and soulful, backed by Rusty on guitar, vocals and trumpet. These guys are great, and I only have good things to say about them. They put on a good live performance and know how to have a good time, so make sure you check them out at C’est What on Saturday (11PM set) before they leave the city!
- TakeTheMedia.com
Discography
- Hummingbird EP (Canada only)
- Temporary Resident CD/LP (CA/USA/AU/NZ/G.A.S.)
- Seasides EP (Canada only)
You can listen to our music here:
imaginarycities.ca
New album "Fall of Romance" is out May 28th!
Stream the track “Chasing The Sunset” on Consequence of Sound now! http://bit.ly/ZlpCoJ
Photos
Bio
Most creative ambitions, musical or otherwise, remain castles in the clouds. Then there are groups like Imaginary Cities, who allow themselves to daydream, but take the rare step of backing it up with action, turning those ambitions into realities. Composed of core duo Marti Sarbit and Rusty Matyas, who are frequently joined by guests in the studio and touring musicians, Imaginary Cities have taken great strides in their young career.
Imaginary Cities have an incredibly solid foundation in multi-instrumentalist Rusty Matyas and vocalist Marti Sarbit. When the pair began collaborating, they immediately recognized their rapport. In Marti's words, “the first song that we recorded was 'ours'; it became ours instead of his, or mine.” It was so natural that they continued to work together, and Imaginary Cities were born.
After forming in 2009, their debut album, Temporary Resident (2011), garnered a warm reception and critical acclaim. Temporary Resident topped campus radio charts, won the Western Canada Music Award for Best Pop Album of the Year and was long-listed for the Polaris Prize, while the group opened for the Pixies on several Canadian and U.S. dates. After a successful Australian tour in the Fall of 2011, Imaginary Cities toured extensively throughout 2012, including a headlining European tour in the Spring and extensive North American dates in the Summer, culminating in an appearance at Lollapalooza in Chicago, IL. Now, with all this behind them, Imaginary Cities are poised to release Fall of Romance, a braver, more ambitious endeavour.
Fall of Romance is a commentary on the challenge of finding and recognizing true love in an increasingly robotic and technology-driven world, where affection is monetized and branded, and small gestures of love reduced to status updates. The record seeks out the feelings and emotional authenticity still possible within such an overwhelmingly commodified reality.
Fall of Romance accomplishes this not only in its content but also in its construction. The bulk of the record was recorded in Private Ear Recording in Winnipeg and The Menagerie in Vancouver. However, the finalized tracks also feature elements of the original demos recorded in their rehearsal space lovingly referred to as “the shit hole,” capturing some of the excitement and passion of Imaginary Cities' first takes of a particular track.The record also features brush strokes from more creative locales, such as their friend Anna's apartment in Cologne and the Rushing River Campground. The bells on “Bells of Cologne” were recorded on an iPhone, while “Water Under the Bridge” features children jumping into a lake. In this way, Fall of Romance operates as a work of sculpture by accretion, as Marti and Rusty combine ideas and experiences, including elements of their environments. As such, the record has become a personal chronicle, capturing small, lovely instances, bringing the very moment of inspiration into the song.
While the success of Temporary Resident gave Imaginary Cities a great deal of confidence, their ambitions are greater for Fall of Romance. In production and instrumentation, they pursued a larger, fuller, richer sound, bringing in increased orchestral and choral elements, horns and string sections, and wild synth passages. Imaginary Cities consistently prove that it's possible to both write well-arranged, catchy pop songs that are also experimental. Whether these experiments led to them adding layers of complex instrumentation or the sound of a coffee grinder, the duo consistently explore the musical potential of sound within the structure of pop.
Fall of Romance is a record of hidden depths, calling upon the many tones and modes available within pop music to create an eclectic collection of songs disparate in their styles, but perfectly complementary in aesthetics. Imaginary Cities wish for listeners to take from their music what they want or need, whether that means simply enjoying it or being uplifted by it.
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