Creativity is a gift and a curse. On the one hand, the more creative and original one is, the more others want to hear from you, and that demand is then converted to the all-important dollar. However, for a musician (and may lyricist) of a band that's seen their fair share of success, sometimes that creativity doesn't allow for any down time. We've seen the front men of key scene staples like Anthony Green of Circa Survive, Dallas Green of Alexisonfire (City & Colour), and Jonny Craig of Dance Gavin Dance and Emarosa take time away from the bands they had already given their "full-time" commitment to record a solo album, whether it be for the sheer joy of releasing their art or they are looking for a few extra bucks. Either way, Anthony Raneri, after performing for over a decade with his well-known and adored band Bayside, has decided to throw his name into the mix of front men who have gone solo. The resulting five-track EP New Cathedrals is the result of Raneri's downtime between Bayside touring cycles, but will it be enough for Raneri to pursue his new solo ventures in the future?
The first step in analyzing a front man's solo album is to completely disregard the sound of said front man's "full-time" band. Therefore, it should be said that the best way to truly experience New Cathedrals is to completely disregard anything Raneri had written for Bayside up to this point; keep this in mind: if these songs were written to sound like Bayside songs, they would be Bayside songs. However, there have been hints at what it would sound like when Raneri went sans-Bayside, as he's been playing solo shows for a while now. New Cathedrals certainly has an immense focus on the acoustic guitar, but Raneri's implementation of a full band helps him to explore a few different sounds, like on "Charleston," which has an airy, piano-pop feel to it, as though Raneri has taken a hint from Jack's Mannequin. "Sandra Partial" follows in the footseps of "Charleston," as the piano is yet again featured while Raneri keeps the chorus simple and catchy. "Please Don't Leave" shows Raneri stripping away all the frills, as he swoons over a possibly lost love with just his acoustic guitar and a few snaps to keep the beat. "Please Don't Leave" could almost pass for a pop song (seriously, its like he wrote it for Bruno Mars), even for Raneri, who is as catchy as he is heart-on-sleeve. "The Ballad of Bill the Saint" is probably the song on New Cathedrals with the quickest pace, and is a jangling tune that could almost pass for an ode to an old western gunslinger.
New Cathedrals is a little bit different than most solo albums in one peculiar way, however. "Lead, Follow, Fall" is a bit of a curve ball in that it may in fact be a Bayside b-side (say that ten times fast). The guitar riff that opens the track basically has Jack O' Shea's signature on it, and the first verse is very reminiscent of one of the band's (many) standout tracks, "The Walking Wounded." In letting his mindset for writing Bayside songs to flow over and into his first solo venture, Raneri seems assertive that Bayside will forever be his main creative outlet, which should come as a great relief for the Bayside "cult."
The Bottom Line: If you've been a Bayside fan for an extended period of time, you owe it to Anthony Raneri to give New Cathedrals a shot. Luckily, that shot will pay off, as you'll begin to understand that Raneri's songwriting talents go far beyond what he's been able to do (and will continue to do) with Bayside.
Recommended if you Rock: Anthony Green's Avalon; Jack's Mannequin's People and Things
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