Vocalist Marti Sarbit
and multi-instrumentalist Rusty Matyas
happened to meet in a music club in their native Winnipeg, Canada, in 2010 and shortly
thereafter Imaginary Cities was born.
The duo's debut album, Temporary Resident,
was released in 2011, won a Western Canada Music Award for Best Pop Album of
the Year and was nominated for the 2011 Polaris Music Prize. To support the
album, the band toured Eastern Canada and the United States as an opening act
for Pixies. Imaginary Cities’ second
album, Fall of Romance, will be
released tomorrow.
Labeling Imaginary Cities as an indie band is all too convenient
and possibly inaccurate. Indie artists tend to play music that is a bit left of
center, but Imaginary Cities is a straight-on mainstream pop rock band. At SubCulture: Arts Underground tonight,
the five-piece touring ensemble played a 40-minute set of what could become commercial
radio music. Sarbit’s smoky alto was often spotlighted and was magnetically sultry,
but more often was teamed with Matyas’ in a Jefferson Airplane or X
manner. Short verses led to catchy, melodic choruses, with little time taken
for instrumental breaks. Imaginary Cities may appeal to fans of Sixpence None the Richer and Florence and the Machine.
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