If you’re a sucker for simplicity and all things pretty, City of Union has the song for you with May Storm. The song starts out small, with a minimalist and ambient approach that does eventually build into something more, but never loses the feelings of its soft and capable elements. Like a mixture of indie favorites like Gotye or Bon Iver but with some more brightness and less going on in the percussion area, the song manages to become colorful without being cheesy, as well as lingering without being haunting. This is music that can be reflected on and actively listened to but it can just as easily be fine background for other light activities.
May Storm churns its ambience in a way that very organically builds verses to climax in a satisfying way that always manages to catch itself and bring things back to its twinkling roots. This song is a good reminder of how dynamics don’t have to hurt your ears with booming louds and lose you completely with whispers in order to be effective. The song has a consistency that is maintained even when the mix becomes denser and even as the vocals become more intense. This consistency keeps things very palatable while City of Union gets to produce an expressive performance in the lovely backdrop.
-Paul Weyer
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