City Light is the inevitably alluring collaboration from members of post hardcore influenced indie bands dabbling with electronic editions and eight-bit samples. Matt Shaw’s gritty and earnest vocals recall Bright Eyes while contrasting with the sunnier disposition of City Light’s subdued melodies and Nick Andre’s gritty drum beats. Hailing from Seattle and the Bay Area, life-long friends Shaw and Andre (whose releases have featured Gift Of Gab, OMNI, Bicasso of Living Legends, and more) began mailing tracks back and forth. In its nascence, the duo collaborated with Aqueduct and Airport Cathedral’s Andy Fitts who laid the foundation and lyrics for several tracks on City Light’s first album, Down the Pacific. Enter Statistics and Intramural’s Denver Dalley with whom Andre and Shaw had also been mailing remixes. Soon Dalley’s correspondence turned to laying guitar tracks and sending them back to Seattle for Shaw and Andre to mix. The coming of the group’s sophomore album, Burned Out Bright, also features Her Space Holiday’s Marc Bianchi and hails anything but the dimming of City Light. The drum samples affect a hip-hop production mixed with darker lyrics, muted guitar and some shoe-gaze pop for a textured and complete soundscape, urban and bright.

City Light recently collaborated on a split single with Her Space Holiday, with whom they toured the US. The split is available on iTunes.

Their sophomore release Burned Out Bright is due out January 26th on Banter.