6 In The Morning

Who's Your Money On? The first track off the new EP, 'Youth'.

Who’s Your Money On?

Marina Blue

You're Never Alone

“The White Wall” is the fourth single to be released from Sydney indie rock three-piece Crystal Cities forthcoming third LP, I Should Have Known That This Was War. 

The single is the group’s most hard-hitting and assertive track in a while. While the band’s iconic reverb-drenched dreamscapes are still present, the more energetic and aggressive performances from each member on this track don’t go unnoticed. 

“The White Wall” captures the listener’s attention immediately with its stark intro; a thunderous drum groove with only vocals to accompany it. Geoff Rana’s lyrics are biting: “My God, I can’t believe it, that you have fallen for this now. The lights are barely flicking, but you can’t wait to put them out.” 


The guitar and bass tightly interweave with one another in the verses to create a kind of claustrophobic tension, before the song finally opens up into an ocean of guitar ambience with Rana asking the listener, “Did I tell you about the time? Yeah, behind the white wall.”

“‘The white wall’ is a term I read about, regarding the illusion of reality, where behind the white wall lies the truth about our existence. I related this concept to my experience during the Covid lockdowns and the psychological warfare I found myself in during this time; unable to reach for any kind of solid truth within the fog of mass hysteria…”
⁣- Geoff Rana (vocals/guitar/keys)


Lead vocalist and guitarist/keyboardist Geoff Rana has been spending days on end in his self-made studio where he’s been writing, producing and engineering the band’s latest material.

While the band’s previous effort - their sophomore album Hold Me Close Hold Me Tight - was an exercise in hard-hitting alternative rock that could rattle a live audience, the band’s third LP, I Should Have Known That This Was War, feels more explorative and colourful (at least from the three singles released from the band thus far:“Love Don’t Live Here Anymore”“I Should Have Known That This Was War”, and “The Strangest Dream”). 

This new album also marks the departure of previous drummer Daniel Conte and the arrival of new drummer Neel Shukla. Neel, Geoff and Jared have a long-standing relationship that spans all the way back to when they all studied Contemporary Music Performance together at The Australian Institute of Music in Sydney.

Long-time Crystal Cities collaborator Paul Lani (David Bowie, Prince) was once again tapped to handle mixing and mastering duties for the recording.

Since the band’s formation in 2016 they have released a highly praised EP - Who’s Gonna Save Us Now (2017) - and two critically acclaimed albums - Under The Cold Light of the Moon (2019) and Hold Me Close Hold Me Tight (2021). There is no scheduled release date for the band’s forthcoming third album.

I Should Have Known That This Was War

The White Wall

Written by Sydney Wayser
Produced by Dan Molad and Pete Harper
Mixed by Dan Molad
Mastered by Philip Shaw Bova

LOVER I BUILT US A THRONE
Woke up in your bed
Mountains of pillows had grown
I tied the sheets with copper thread
Lover, I built us a throne

I want to begin, down to the feel and down to the color
Don’t wait for me to kiss you in the morning when you’re half asleep

Honey I want to get tangled up
Maybe you and I could fall in love
I don’t want to wait but I don’t want to rush
I think I love you, I love you, I love you

We memorized the history 
Of ancient Greece and ancient Rome
And while you practiced their dances
My king, I knit you a robe

I want to begin, down to the feel and down to the color
Don’t wait for me to kiss you in the morning when you’re half asleep
‘Cause I want to begin again 

Honey I want to get tangled up
Maybe you and I could fall in love
I don’t want to wait but I don’t want to rush
I think I love you, I love you, I love you
I love you, I love you, I love you

Somewhere in the forest I built a tower
Far behind the pines, stacked bricks and flowers
I’d forgotten my truth I had nothing to prove

Honey all I want do is tangled up
Maybe you and I could fall in love
I don’t want to wait but I don’t want to rush
I love you, I love you, I love you
I love you, I love you, I love you

FIND A WINDOW

May 16 2023

Lover I Built Us A Throne

Charlie Parker

flowers

Throw me out the window now
I’ll be your star
Win or lose, pick and choose
We play our part
When we fall no one calls
We all get scarred

Tell me your name as a fraction
Judgement is just my reaction

Throw one down the wishing well
I’ll be your dream
All on red’s what she said
Bombs on the beach
When we fell, it’s just as well
Tear out the seams

Tell me your name as a fraction
Judgement is just my reaction

Throw the dice in the ring
I’ll play your game
Safe in bed, left for dead
One and the same
Then we start to come apart
Who can we blame?

I'll Be Your Star

All I Die For

NB NAKITA FT. SPAIN "Could Neverrrr"

Sometimes, the greatest ideas spring from the subconscious, fully formed. Such is the case with CLARA-NOVA, a name and concept that struck its creator, Sydney Wayser, in a dream. Musical exploration had already pushed the Los Angeles native onto a pantheon of Franco-American influences, from Edith Piaf, Jacques Brel and Charlotte Gainsbourg to John Lennon and Jeff Buckley. Now, her inventive songs swim to new depths in a mix of pastoral pleasures and urban grit—a sonic landscape of organic and electronic sounds. “Let me count the ways that you haunt me,” she sings on “Electric,” synths and strums swirling around her. “Let me count the ways that you stop me in my tracks attacking every part of me / you woke me up when the storm came and it’ll never be the same again.” Pulling inspiration from deep sea dance parties, ancient Egyptian ritual and Martian folklore, the upcoming CLARA-NOVA EP sets forth an otherworldly sound, grounded in the earthy intensities of the human experience. “I drank a handful of water from a black well,” Wayser sings on “Isis.” “Been painting my life and it’s not only golden / I’ve been humbled.”