NOR CAL REPORT: City Tribe

April 26. 2013 | By Alyssa Pereira

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San Francisco”s City Tribe wants to get intimate with you. They want to romance you, spoil you, and take you on picnics in Dolores Park (#yolodolo). They want to serenade you in dimly lit bars with a billet doux, and while they”ll respect your boundaries, you’ll give in. They are just so damn suave. I mean, just look at vocalist/guitarist Duncan Nielsen”s bewitchingly-coifed mustache. Seriously, somebody call GQ.

Originally a project started by Nielsen and vocalist/guitarist Jake Jones, City Tribe soon recruited Scott Tarango for drums and snagged Eric Wallace for bass, and together they played relentlessly throughout SF’s SOMA district. Eventually they built their name up online casino enough to headline a May 2nd show at Brick & Mortar.

Their marching, wailing melody lines get to the bottom of perpetual alt-indie and classic folk struggles—identity, heartbreak, and coming-of-age—and just like participants in Dolores’ Annual Hunky Jesus Contest, they do it with irreverent style and earnest brilliance. Carefully calculated, but unobtrusive harmonies bask in their own California-grown sunshine. The result is a shimmering, warming

fervor of sound. You’re sure to get lost within the upcoming release (the new single drops May 2nd) well into the summer.

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