Royal City – Royal City 1999-2004 (Asthmatic Kitty) This posthumous collection begins with a cover of Iggy Pop’s ‘Success’ and it’s hard to miss the irony. Despite having once headlined above the Arcade Fire and at one time having boasted Leslie Feist amongst their ranks, success never arrived at Royal City. The group disbanded after just two albums. Five years later, Canadian indie moguls, Asthmatic Kitty Records have provided us with this collection of rarities and b-sides, which is anything but throwaway. In fact its magic lies in that it sounds like an album proper as opposed to a compilation and begs the listener to discover Royal City’s back catalogue. The aforementioned ‘Success’ is one of the best songs on display here but other tracks including ’The Nations Will Sing’ and the sublime, self referencing ‘In The Autumn’ ask the question: why was this band not huge? The twelve songs on display have certainly not dated, in fact they sound fresh, current and very modern and hint that perhaps Royal City are about to become the Canadian music scene’s very own Neutral Milk Hotel. http://asthmatickitty.com Michael B. Royal City… Next