Reviewed by Ian Phillips.
By Port Cities & Emma-Lee, Turtlemusik 2022.
Canadian duo, Port Cities (Dylan Guthro and Carleton Stone) have teamed up with singer/songwriter Emma-Lee from Toronto to turn out one of the catchiest pop tracks released so far this year.
If this track is anything to go by Port Cities have undergone a transformation since their long-term band member Breagh Makinnon departed.
They were originally a roots orientated trio and they’d achieved many number ones on CBS and Spotify Charts, multiple awards and over nine million streams worldwide but with this single they’ve embraced a new lighter and pop-oriented sound.
Maybe the injection of Emma-Lee changed the dynamic.
I Still See You At Parties is a song that many of us can automatically relate to; the awkwardness of constantly seeing your ex at parties because you share the same friends.
It came about through a comment made by Dylan when the boys just happened to meet up with long-time friend and collaborator Emma-Lee in Nashville.
Dylan had just broken up with his partner and when he was asked how he was going he said it wasn’t too bad, but he kept running into her at parties.
The three of them looked at each other and then immediately started writing this song.
The contrasting mix of male and female voices works brilliantly, presenting the dilemma from both sides and the light R&B/pop mix, produced by Dylan Guthro, means that the track doesn’t dip into maudlin territory.
It’s a very clever song about a universal issue, and expertly handled.
I have been receiving a lot of Canadian music of late and I feel that there’s a lot of good things happening in the music scene over there.
