Music
Press
"The New Cities are releasing the video for their third single from 2011's Kill The Lights and Mugshot looks like a typical night with the cast of Jersey Shore. From parties to police, Mugshot has all the ingredients for showing why sometimes less shots are much, much better than more shots." - MuchMusic Blog
The New Cities released their sophomore album Kill The Lights on September 27 and already the band is finding new and creative ways to reach their legions of fans. TNC members David and Julien gave us the exclusive info on the bands venture into 3D and their first foray into french music (all six members of The New Cities grew up in Quebec).
We also have the EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW of The New Cities video for The Hype! The full version won’t be released until Tuesday, October 11 on MuchMusic, but you can watch a sneak peek, as well as the full interview and the first episode of The New Cities in 3D under the jump! - MuchMusic Blog
In support of their second album Kill The Lights, Trois-Rivières/Montreal band The New Cities will be joining Avril Lavigne on tour across the Great white North. Starting in Vancouver on Monday, October 3, the band joins the “Complicated” superstar on her Black Star Tour for the run of Canadian dates.
The New Cities have already racked up an inspirational array of accolades, including a Juno Award nomination for “New Group of the Year,” an ADISQ nomination for “Anglophone Album Of The Year” and two Canadian Radio Music Award nominations for “Best New Group.” Additionally, the six-piece recently worked with internationally acclaimed production team The Matrix on Kill The Lights, which was released earlier this week by Sony Music. The first single, “Heatwave”, peaked at #11 CHR and was co-written by The Matrix and the band. “Heatwave” was a #1 video on Musique Plus, and has received 500,000 views on youtube. Kill The Lights follows on the success of The New Cities’ 2006, self-titled EP and their 2009 album debut, Lost in City Lights.
The 14-date in-depth Canadian Black Star tour includes stops in Vancouver, Victoria, Prince George, Kamloops, Kelowna, Edmonton, Calgary, Regina, Winnipeg, Sudbury, Ottawa, Moncton, Halifax, London, Toronto and Montreal throughout October.
10.01.11 Victoria Save On Foods Memorial Centre
10.03.11 Vancouver Rogers Arena
10.05.11 Prince George CN Centre
10.06.11 Kamloops Interior Savings Centre
10.08.11 Kelowna Prospera Place
10.10.11 Edmonton Rexall Place
10.11.11 Calgary Scotiabank Saddledome
10.13.11 Regina Brandt Centre
10.14.11 Winnipeg MTS Centre
10.16.11 Sudbury Sudbury Arena
10.17.11 Ottawa Scotiabank Place
10.19.11 Moncton Coliseum
10.20.11 Halifax Metro Centre
10.22.11 London John Labatt Centre
10.24.11 Toronto Air Canada Centre
10.25.11 Montreal Centre Bell
Read more: The New Cities Join Avril Lavigne On Canadian Tour | RockStar Weekly http://www.rockstarweekly.com/the-new-cities-join-avril-lavigne-on-canadian-tour.html#ixzz1d9U64tOF
- Rockstar Weekly
Of all the bands we’ve seen thus far, this one has the most up-and-coming commercial potential. They’re catchy new wave synth punk with just enough pop. The entire band exuded tremendous energy right from the get-go, which seemed to fill the entire space. What made this band’s energy seem bigger was that they seemed to be having the time of their lives on stage (loved the keyboardist’s acrobatics). They were all over the place and loving it. - Inside E Canada
"Perform is quite the word to use in The New Cities’ case. From the keyboardists jumping on their instruments while playing to the singer going from side to side of the stage and dancing all the way, these four guys definitely put on an exhilarating performance." - Nour Haik - Live 'N Loud Magazine
"Of all the bands we’ve seen thus far, this one has the most up-and-coming commercial potential. They’re catchy new wave synth punk with just enough pop. The entire band exuded tremendous energy right from the get-go, which seemed to fill the entire space. What made this band’s energy seem bigger was that they seemed to be having the time of their lives on stage (loved the keyboardist’s acrobatics)." - Emer Schlosser - Inside E Canada
"The band are clearly influenced by the likes of New Order and Death From Above 1979, but add their own unique twist. Produced by Greig Nori (the onetime frontman of Treble Charger who has since made his mark producing Sum 41), ‘Dead End Countdown’ follows all the melancholy that surrounds a break-up. The band who have just been nominated for ‘best new group’ at the Canadian JUNO awards, have been busy in their home country where they recently went busking in the metro stations of Montreal to raise money for War Child. The New Cities toured the UK last month garnering rave reviews, and will be back on our shores very soon, in the meantime they are on a headline tour of Canada." - Subba-Cultcha
With his band, The New Cities, up for a Best New Group Juno, lead singer David Brown has a lot of people he’d like to thank: family, girlfriends – every person, band and radio station that made the liner notes of the band’s debut, Lost in City Lights … and more. But on any list of thankyous – even one in no particular order – someone has to be named first. And according to Brown, Greig Nori is “at the top of the list. - Leah Collins - Dose.ca
“The New Cities are the kind of band that you can easily visualize grinning down from the covers of your friendly neighborhood rock publications before too long; they’re catchier than the common cold, visually marketable, and very much in tune with the current synthpop/rock crossover explosion.” – Rob S - Rock Pulse
Discography
Kill The Lights (September 27, 2011) Sony Music Canada.
Lost in City Lights (May 5, 2009) Sony Music Canada.
The New Cities EP (March, 2006) Independently Released.
MUSIC VIDEOS
Mugshot - http://youtu.be/yqWEyLYeZTE?hd=1
The Hype - http://youtu.be/hqYbEMHqN9k?hd=1
Heatwave - http://youtu.be/hpe5X2iCMAw?hd=1
Looks Minus Substance - http://youtu.be/-2wRG2SC7EA?hd=1
Hypertronic Superstar - http://youtu.be/VWePlnZa_wc
Leaders Of The Misled - http://youtu.be/3NeanPNeOnE
Dead End Countdown - http://youtu.be/4k5HzOe4PsM
AWARDS & NOMINATIONS:
2010 - "Dead End Countdown" - SOCAN "POP/ROCK music award" (Won)
2010 - "The New Cities" - JUNO Canada's Music Awards "New Group of the Year" (Nominated)
2010 - "Lost in City Lights" - ADISQ "Album Anglophone de l'année" (Nominated)
2010 - "The New Cities" - Canadian Radio Music Awards - "Best New group or solo artist of the year (HOT AC)"(Nominated)
2010 - "The New Cities" - Canadian Radio Music Awards - "Best New group or solo artist of the year (CHR)" (Nominated)
2009 - "Dead End Countdown" - MuchMusic Video Awards - "Post-Production of the Year" (Nominated)
APPEARANCES IN OTHER MEDIA:
2010. Song "Leaders of the Misled" was used in the film Degrassi Takes Manhattan.
2010. Song "Hypertronic Superstar" was used in Season 3, Episode 5 of So You Think You Can Dance Canada.
2009. Song "Dead End Countdown" was used in Season 2, Episode 4 of So You Think You Can Dance Canada.
2009. Song "Lost in City Lights" was used in Season 3 of Gossip Girl.
Photos
Bio
If you’re of the incurably-chronic latecomer variety, you can be late off the mark, late to the game, or simply late for late’s sake. But if you’ve got a studio date with Los Angeles-based production powerhouse The Matrix – who have notched the likes of Avril Lavigne, Korn and Christina Aguilera on their extensive bedpost of credits – word on the street is that you don’t want to be late. Ever.
“The day before we went into studio with The Matrix in L.A., we were stressing out,” says The New Cities frontman David Brown, “because we didn’t want to be late at all ’cause sometimes we’re, well, a little bit late…”
“And then we ended up being a lot late,” chimes in bassist/vocalist Julien Martre.
“Yeah, we got lost in the hills outside of L.A. and we thought we blew it!” laughs Brown.
Fortunately, the fear of tarnishing their first impression with The Matrix was quickly eased. “They were so chill and just the nicest people to work with,” says Martre.
Though The New Cities might suffer from the occasional unintentional tardiness, they are the farthest thing from Johnny-come-latelies. In the six years since their formation, the young, Montreal-based six-piece – rounded out by guitarist Christian Bergeron, synth players Nicolas Denis and Philippe Lachance, and drummer Francis Fugere – has racked up an inspirational array of accolades, including but not limited to a JUNO Award nomination (New Group of the Year), an ADISQ nod (Anglophone Album of the Year) and two Canadian Radio Music Award noms for Best New Group (in the AC and CHR categories).
And working with internationally-courted and -acclaimed production team The Matrix – on music from their soon-to-be-released sophomore album, Kill the Lights (due out September 27) – is only the latest feather in an already brimming cap. Kill the Lights follows on the success of their 2006, self-titled EP and their 2009 album debut, Lost in City Lights, recorded and produced by much-in-demand former Treble Charger frontman Greig Nori (whose production credits include Sum 41 and Hedley). Additionally, renowned electro-rock producer Dave “Rave” Ogilvie (Marilyn Manson, Tool, David Bowie) contributed the mixing on the final product. The same generosity in the creative process has also been extended to their newest collection of music.
“Though The Matrix is probably the best well-known, we worked with a lot of new people on Kill the Lights,” says Brown. “And that helped a lot, just getting our writing skills to the next level.” Produced by Blake Healy and Co-Produced by The New Cities, Kill the Lights was again mixed by veteran Dave Ogilvie, along with Joe Zook (Katy Perry, P!nk, Weezer).
The New Cities demonstrate an impressive absence of insecurity when it comes to talking about what it is they do exactly. To hear them describe themselves, they’re an as-the-mood-strikes mélange – and with six in the mix, that can make for many a mood – of electro, rock and pop that on most days could be best characterized as either synth-pop-rock or simply pop-rock. “But we need to keep the word ‘rock’ in there,” jokes Brown, “because otherwise we’d just be ‘pop-pop!’”
“I think we’re a rock band, that’s basically what we are,” throws in Martre. “In addition to the two synth players, we’re a drummer, bass and guitars – and that’s the foundation of the band, and we don’t want to get rid of that.”
Says Brown with finality: “It’s a real electro band, and it’s a real rock band.”
And there you have it. At a time in our cultural evolution when the words “real” and “reality” couldn’t be more different in terms of their meaning, here comes a band with its feet firmly on the ground, its head on straight, and its gaze focused solely forward. They’ve come to work and they’ve come to rock, and to do both with commensurate intensity.
Following Lost in City Lights – which yielded ridiculously infectious hit single Dead End Countdown (which picked up the 2010 SOCAN Pop/Rock Music Award) – the
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