Hot take: If I Should Go Before You may be the best City & Colour album. I definitely think it’s my favorite of the more “full band” albums beginning with Little Hell.
Lukewarm take: he’s gotten progressively less good as he’s gotten more popular, with Sometimes being his high point
I love it too. In fact, since I started scrobbling since 2015 it's in my top 10 most listened to albums 1 Bon Iver — 22, A Million 1,391 2 Jason Isbell — Southeastern 564 3 Bon Iver — Bon Iver 543 4 Noah Gundersen — Carry the Ghost (Deluxe Edition) 493 5 Bon Iver — For Emma, Forever Ago 418 6 Kacey Musgraves — Golden Hour 387 7 Father John Misty — Fear Fun 377 8 City and Colour — If I Should Go Before You 373 9 Grouper — Ruins 361 10 The National — Trouble Will Find Me 352
Ya'll really had to bump this thread too right after the AOF one making me want to revisit this catalog, and I go and listen to his cover of Happiness By The Kilowatt for the first time in years and I am just supposed to go about my day like that isn't one of the saddest things I've ever heard I wanted to buy Guide Me Back Home when I was in Newbury Comics last week but the price point put me off, though the catalog on it is fantastic. Still thinking about picking it up.
Overall I would say I like his live stuff even more than any of his studio albums tbh. Edit: That includes Guide Me Back Home of course but also this:
Bumping this because new AOF hype (still hard to believe that) has me revisiting his latest record. Kinda lost interest in Dallas these last few years tbh, got tired of waiting for AOF and wasn't too big into The Hurry and the Harm. Going back to If I Should Go Before You though... damn, this record is fantastic
I'm listening to If I Should Go for the first time for the same reason, and this is my favorite of the full band stuff as well, but this style reminds me of the fitted, feathered, suspender-wearin' boys that litter my hometown when university semesters start. If this were anybody else, I would have never listened. So, I will continue to wait anxiously for that new AOF single.
IISGBY is a great album. I love the rhythm and blues feel to it. Dallas has always had a blues influence, even in AOF, so I’d love to hear him fully lean into that rootsy electric blues sound.
I'm revisiting his discography right now. It's been years since I listened to Little Hell, I forgot how much I love this album. It might be my favorite of his.