Paul Lambert & City Walls

“With any band, it begins and ends with great songs. [City Walls] has been able to stand out and prove they can stand above the rest. I’m really proud of what they’ve accomplished so far and I’m excited about the year we’re going to spend helping develop this act” -

“The praise for City Walls is virtually everywhere these days and the accolades are clear testament to their genre‐bending performances following the 2009 release of their debut CD, Dark Days. I now count myself as a very big fan ” - Joe Leary, TV Week - TV Week

“This is a band that deserves their ever growing popularity…they have me hooked” - Ryan Mund, Rockstar Weekly - Rockstar Weekly

“Breaking into the rock-and-roll industry is no easy feat. However, in less than one year,
City Walls (Louder Than Love) has done just that" - The Richmond News

If you haven’t heard of City Walls (Louder Than Love), don’t feel too badly. Neither had we until our readers voted the Vancouver-based indie-rock quintet best local band over Black Mountain, AK-747s, and Mother Mother... - Westender

“Melodic with good time changes and strong songwriting skills, this band is going
places" - North By East West

"The praise for City Walls (LTL) is virtually everywhere these days and the accolades are clear
testament to their genre-bending performances following the 2009 release of their
debut CD, Dark Days. I now count myself as a very big fan " - Joe Leary, TV Week - TV Week

"City Walls (Louder Than Love) is one of the most-acclaimed bands on the local indie scene, drawing praise all around, even being declared the city’s best in a recent poll." - 24 Hours Vancouver

Loud and loving it: High school friends reunite to play packed clubs

By Christine Lyon - Richmond Review
Published: March 24, 2010 1:00 PM
Updated: March 24, 2010 2:15 PM

Bred on the classic rock anthems of their parents’ generation, five Hugh McRoberts grads have reunited to play fresh material influenced by the musical idols of their youth.

Frontman Paul Lambert last year recruited his younger brother and their high school friends to perform songs he wrote and produced, catapulting the musicians from basement jam sessions into packed nightclubs.

City Walls' (Louder than Love’s) debut album Dark Days, officially released on iTunes in January, was recorded solely by Lambert. The band’s live shows, however, feature the five-man lineup of lead vocalist and guitarist Paul Lambert, his brother Tony (bass), Tyler Thompson (drums), Nathan Parsons (vocals/guitar) and Dan Okano (vocals/keyboard).

Music was not Lambert’s first passion. He grew up playing hockey, but was eventually put off by the high-pressure sport.

“When I was 13 I decided I wanted to go in a completely different direction,” says Lambert, now 26.

With the support of his parents, he began guitar lessons. Tony took up the drums and later switched to bass. The brothers’ love for music grew from there.

Confronted with post-secondary decisions, Lambert veered away from traditional academics and opted instead to continue his musical education. He attended McGill University to study jazz guitar, which he describes as an extremely challenging style.

“I really threw myself into that, not so much because I loved jazz but more just because it was such an incredible experience studying Miles Davis and John Coltrane and really delving deep as far into the musical world as I could.”

He spent several months performing with a show band on a cruise ship and experimented with bands in New York City before tiring of playing other people’s material.

Lambert spent a year and a half writing and producing his 11-track album, which he recorded at the Warehouse Studio in Vancouver.

His lyrics might have sprouted from a simple guitar riff, a drum beat or a lyrical hook, but all stick to a unifying theme. Like the Beatles and Pink Floyd, it was important for Lambert to create a concept album. The theme of Dark Days is hope in dark times and the album’s melancholy title track about elusive love combines orchestral instruments, heavy guitars and layered vocals.

Lambert describes the album as “a blend between classic rock and more modern-sounding production techniques.”

It was when keyboarder Okano visited Montreal that the friends first toyed with the idea of performing the progressive rock tracks with their old McRoberts buddies.

Lambert soon returned to his hometown and his first love—rock.

“I grew up listening to rock and we all did—the whole band did. Rock music is definitely my true inspiration and my true passion.”

The name of the group is not, as many assume, a reference to Soundgarden’s 1989 album, though Lambert says the bands can be closely categorized. Rather, he took the name from a documentary about the infamous Grande Ballroom in Detroit.

“I was just so inspired by that name; I loved the sound of it.”

Louder than Love’s first live gig at the Fairview Pub in Vancouver was a little nerve-racking, to say the least. It was Okano’s and Tony Lambert’s first time playing their respective instruments live. Plus there was the added pressure of performing never-heard-before material in front of strangers.

“All around it was received really well that night and it kind of just pumped us up to continue to play and now we’re just playing really comfortably and playing some really big shows—packed houses and stuff like that,” says Lambert. He adds his jazz training comes in handy when onstage improvisation is necessary.

Their most memorable show to date was just last week. On St. Patrick’s Day the boys played at the Media Club in Vancouver in front of an enthusiastic audience that combined longtime Richmond friends and new fans.

Louder than Love has been played on college radio stations across Canada as well as one commercial Nanaimo station. They now hope to win fans in Eastern Canada and the States and plan to start writing music together soon. - The Richmond Review (CA)