Review | Larcenist – Eager City, Patient Country

photo credit to David Wright Photography http://www.davidwrightphoto.com/

[T]he moment you press play on the new full-length Larcenist album Eager City, Patient Country a welcoming feeling sets in and takes hold. It’s the familiar sound of everyday life, and the stories of regular folks like you and I making our way in the world, set to beautifully arranged instruments and reassuring voices. All twelve songs evoke a time gone by but in way that feels contemporary, after all the search for salvation is a timeless anecdote.

In the Spring of 2011 the band released their debut EP, We Become The Hunted, and laid the path of the soul searching protagonist straight through the working class neighborhoods of Boston and beyond. Eager City, Patient Country puts us right back into the journey, just a little further down the road. A maturity has settled in, perhaps due to the time on the road or from the type of friendship that comes from being in a band, and the new release benefits greatly.

“Born and Raised” is the perfect start to an album created to take the listener on a melodious sojourn through the soul of their own hometown. “We say born and raised/With a point of contention/Like a badge of pride” is a lyric meant for everyone with a love/hate relationship with their place of birth. This internal fight can be found throughout Eager City, Patient Country and as we dive further in with the track “American Saint,” the pursuit of personal acceptance becomes more apparent right from the first line “American Saint/No he ain’t/but he can’t leave his shadows behind.” It’s a gorgeous song with a beautifully played violin setting the somber tone.

The music is a collaboration between multiple songwriters, each bringing his own particular set of skills to the table, allowing a spotlight to shine on every component that makes up the band. Case in point, the video for the first single, “Faithful,” was filmed by guitarist/vocalist Jonathan Schoeck and brings unique imagery to the ballad of the album’s journeyman.

After a brief musical interlude by the Faithful Quartet the boys kick it up a notch with the track “Motown,” a knee-slapping, partner-spinning ditty held together with a thumping stand-up bass and guitars played fast and furious. The band keeps the pace going with the lovelorn rocker, “Pain,” and pull the reigns back with one of my favorite songs, “Dig Me Up,” both tracks examining relationships and the discontent that follows.

The final track on Eager City, Patient Country, “Nebraska,” brings the exploration of one’s identity to a crescendo as the realization that it is never ending sets in. “I’ve become eager city/she remains patient country/ever watching and waiting/ever watching and waiting” sings the well traveled explorer. It is a fitting end to an album built on the trials and tribulations of trying to escape your past while accepting that it will always be a part of your future.

This is an album worth adding to your collection so show the boys some love and head over to their bandcamp site to download it today. You can also follow them on Facebook and Twitter to keep up-to-date on with their concert schedule.