Music Existence Because of Music, We Exist
New York City and its five boroughs are arguably one of the most-condensed cultural hotspots in the world, let alone the United States. To sit down and catalog the amount of history-changing events, people, and inventions that have spawned from this single city would take a week, or a week and a half if you’re accounting for coffee and bathroom breaks. Just accounting for the music side of things, Greenwich Village is a must-say, and then there’s Jay-Z and Notorious B.I.G. Several genres were eternally shifted just based on one city. Then there are the places these acts cut their teeth: Radio City Music Hall, CBGB, and (for the real game-changers) Madison Square Garden — speaking of CBGB, however, this may as well have been its own borough as far as music was concerned.
Named after “Country, BlueGrass, and Blues,” the bands that arose from CBGB were anything but: Television, Blondie, The Ramones, Talking Heads, Misfits, Patti Smith Group, and B-52s (to name the very small tip of a very large iceberg) all took off after performing at the club. One name that also happened to be at the same club, working the same stage and floor as totemic icons: Jon Pozzuto. The name might not ring a bell, at least not yet, but after hearing his debut EP Valley of Empty Cities, the bell is about to start ringing — and it won’t be stopping anytime soon.
SONG WHIP: https://songwhip.com/jonpozzuto
Valley of Empty Cities is a substantial package kept in a small box; keeping things short and simple at four tracks and a runtime of around fifteen minutes, there’s a lot to be accomplished in a short amount of time, but Pozzuto does it with enviable ease. The EP opens up with “Dead End Train,” a radically different type of country-rock tribute as it keeps as much of Pozzuto’s punk New York roots as it similarly brings quality Nashville flair.
“Love and Death” keeps things a little more subtle and gentle, bringing in the harmonica to give the EP its signature ballad. The harmonies on this song are well done and allow the bittersweet song to stay long after it’s over. “Cemetery Grove” pivots things to being back up to speed, giving the harmonica another chance to shine on a more up-tempo track. The same bittersweet cloud hangs over this track but the sweetness greatly overshadows the bitterness through the use of sweet harmonies in the chorus.
The closing track, “Valley of Empty Cities,” gives the EP of the same name the finale it deserves — incendiary, catchy, and well-deserving as a punk track to make Pozzuto’s CBGB roots proud. The consistency from track to track allows Pozzuto to truly stretch all areas of his songwriting and performing skills, and he does great work for the EP’s full runtime. Highlights of the EP feel silly, as the entire project stands at a mere four tracks, so you’re best off just listening to Valley of Empty Cities front to back… and then front to back again, and again, and again.
Kim Sullenberger
