Album Review: City and Colour – “A Pill For Loneliness”

By: Jessica Nakamoto –

If the most frightening epidemic facing the world today isn’t a foreign enemy, but solitude itself, then music is Dallas Green’s prescription for feeling alone. And luckily for fans, a refill is just what the doctor ordered. 

Making a return after four long years of intermission between his last chart-topping platinum record, the acclaimed three-time Juno-award-winning musician has once again hit the ground running with another psychological rollercoaster of emotion.  

A Pill for Loneliness (out now via Still Records) has arrived, and it is even more impactful than anticipated. 

Known for his keen ability to twist woeful and melancholic lyrics into bright bursts of upbeat alternative folk-rock melodies, Green’s solo, and now primary project, City and Colour, has always been a source of mellow jams and eloquent yet relatable messages.  

However, living in a world which Green now views as fractured and in a constant state of argument and “pointless conversations about who’s right and who’s wrong” (Me and the Moon), there’s even more need than before to put a positive spin on what can turn out to be some dreary situations. 

“I wrote a lot of dark songs and wrapped them in the most beautiful sounds we could find,” Green explained as he debriefed City and Colour’s sixth studio record. “I had to write these songs in order to get out of my own head first. If someone can listen and relate to what I’m saying, my duty as a writer is fulfilled in the best way possible.”

And while the average listener may not fully comprehend the turbulent and sometimes destructive lifestyle led by many a touring musician (a concept explored by Green in songs such as “Astronaut” and “Strangers”), it’s likely that the hauntingly graceful piano segments woven around the idea of reaching one’s emotional limit (Lay Me Down), and the instinct to question the irrational quarrelling between individuals or groups (Song of Unrest) will hit close to home no matter the person or the struggle they face. 

Yet, after pointing out the ease of relating to mass issues, there’s no reason for listeners to avoid turning the tables and coming together for a different reason.

For whether it be finding the strength to navigate a relational rough patch (Difficult Love), or defying the odds and “living ‘till the dancing days are gone” (Imagination), Green indicates that when it comes to facing obstacles, a unified sense of hope, a positive outlook, and good music, is not only relatable and accessible to all, but the perfect cure-all for anything the world may throw our way. 

Recommended Tracks: Imagination / Difficult Love / Mountain of Madness