Felicity – The City Beautiful
The City Beautiful had me wanting to call my friends, grab my skateboard and bounce around to loud music until nothing matters anymore… it’s a pity that I can’t skate.
It’s the year 2000 and I’m heading off on a road trip. Before I start, I decide that I need some ‘road trip music’ so I head off and buy the self-titled album of a band that I don’t know called New Found Glory. From the second that the first riff on the first song kicks in, I know that I’ve made a good choice: this is perfect for driving fast and leaving your troubles behind.
It’s now the year 2018 and I just listened to The City Beautiful by Felicity and a lot of those old feelings have returned. Again, from that first riff, the Orlando-based band have my attention. There’s a power and a brightness behind the intro that suggests that this is going to a song that I’m going to struggle to listen to sitting down.
… and then the lead guitar kicks in. The riff is perfect in that it drives the song without unnecessarily complicating it. The energy of The City Beautiful doesn’t relent and the vocals definitely stand up to the quality of the rest of the band. There’s a cohesion about Felicity: every instrument adds something and the pace and power that they create is genuinely exciting. All of a sudden I’m back in that car in the year 2000, listening to a band, who have me hooked in less than 30 seconds.
It’s not a coincidence that the song has that ‘summer road trip’ feeling because that’s obviously where the band have pitched it. The lyrics open with the desire to drive to the seaside to get away from their worries and the tone of the song is basically set from there. There are plenty of songs about feeling bad and everything being wrong. This one is pure optimism and I love that about it.
The music just makes you want to jump around and feel good and the lyrics are full of references to things such as warm nights after dark, theme parks and going to where you go to forget life. The blend is faultless.
As far as songwriting goes, Felicity really know what they’re doing. The increase in tempo in the pre-chorus gives the impression that it’s building to something. When the chorus kicks in, it’s everything that you want it to be: bouncy, heavy and the perfect rhythm for jumping to at gigs.
If you want to turn down the lights, wallow and feel bad, give The City Beautiful a miss and dig out your old Bright Eyes cds. If you want some straight down the line, old-school, bouncy, feel-good pop-punk, you’re going to struggle to find much better than Felicity.
The City Beautiful had me wanting to call my friends, grab my skateboard and bounce around to loud music until nothing matters anymore… it’s a pity that I can’t skate.
About Felicity
“Based in Orlando, Florida, FELICITY is praised for their highly energetic blend of Hard Rock and Pop Punk. The five-piece band consist of Damien Fagiolino (Vocals), Andrew Rapier (Guitar), Cory Comly (Guitar), Mike Alosa (Bass), and Tyler Dennett (Drums) Since their inception in 2013 FELICITY has grown from playing dive bars in Central Florida to touring with national touring acts all over the United States. They have had the pleasure to perform at festivals like Vans Warped Tour, Sun Fest, Florida Music Festival, and Fort Rock 2017.”
Support Felicity On
Website: https://www.wearefelicity.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wearefelicity
Twitter: @wearefelicity
Instagram: @wearefelicity
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/wearefelicity
Now that’s a straight up, feel good rock song that I really enjoyed! Being a 90s Kid, I miss Pop Punk being on the radio more often. This video and song took me right back to those days. Thank you! 🙂
Glad you enjoyed it Mahesh. These guys are definitely good at what they do!
Saw these guys at warped tour. they were the shit! awesome live band
Gotta love a bit of classic pop punk, don’t see it enough these days. Catchy songs with fun riffs and that heavier guitar sound, reckon this would be a great song to see at a gig with the “Nah’s”!