Anthony Raneri – New Cathedrals

I’ve always had a lot of respect for Anthony Raneri as a songwriter, and for years I’ve credited Bayside with being one of the bands that helped me make that transition from bad music that no-one should ever admit to listening to, to music that has had a massive impact on me as I’ve grown up. Despite that, I’ve never had the chance to see Raneri perform a solo show, and even if I had, up until recently it would have been Bayside material and nothing more. Whilst those songs sound incredible acoustic, at least from what I’ve heard from even the lowest quality YouTube videos, the idea of new material from theBayside front man had me pretty excited to see what he could do away from a full band effort.

Opening track Sandra Partial is quite possibly one of the catchiest songs you’ll hear this year, and you can quote me on that. The country-tinged, crooning love song is something I doubt anyone expected, but it’s a welcome surprise that sets the bar high for what’s to come. The EP could go one of two ways, and thankfully it goes the right way. Following tracks like Charleston and The Ballad Of Bill The Saintblend darker lyricism with upbeat melodies and hint at a wide range of influences, and if you didn’t already know this was the work of a man that fronts a punk band, I doubt you’d be able to guess. It’s a simple EP, a small collection of folksy songs that maintain a hard done to message – a good example being Please Don’t Leave, a pained, stripped back ‘campfire ballad’ that repeatedly pleads “save this sinking heart from its restraining chest.”

If anyone ever doubted Anthony Raneri’s diversity as a musician, this is solid proof that he’s comfortable with breaking the Bayside mould. In all honesty, it’s not the most memorable EP you’ll ever hear, but ifNew Cathedrals turns out to be merely a preview of what we can expect from Raneri this year, then any other alternative solo artists that are planning on dropping new material in 2012 have to pull some serious surprises out of the bag.