There is a moment of serene clarity during “The Grand Optimist,” the third song off City And Colour’s third album Little Hell, when Dallas Green elucidates, “Then there’s my father he’s always looking on the bright side // Saying things like ‘Son life just ain’t that hard’ //  He is the grand optimist, I am the world’s poor pessimist // You give him burdens sometimes and he will escape unscarred // I guess I take after my mother.” After one listen to “The Grand Optimist,” it is apparent that Green, however unwilling, has become the spokesman for a new group of disenfranchised, downtrodden young adults.

Back in 2004, when Alexisonfire guitarist and singer, Dallas Green, decided to dabble in an acoustic side project, he could have hardly imagined where the fruits of his labor would take him. Ultimately, this small side project, City And Colour, would morph into band arguably a bigger than his full-time gig. Little Hell is certainly different from the group’s previous outputs, Sometimes (2005) and Bring Me Your Love (2008). With a much larger, full-band sound, darker lyrical themes, and experimentation with different musical genres, Little Hell is much more than just an “acoustic side project.”

Country-tinged opener “We Found Each Other In The Dark” and classic-rock inspired “Natural Disaster” introduce a new era in the career of City And Colour. Each is a clear indication of the full-band direction that Little Hell is headed in; both find the soft-spoken Green valiantly leading the expedition into his “little hells” that the record is named after. Lead single “Fragile Bird” has an Iron & Wine vibe as a toe-tapping beat and crunchy electric guitars mask Green’s dark lyrics. The rocking, passionate “Weightless” finds Green at his best as his bluesy guitar play stands second only to his ardent vocal performance.

Recorded in an abandoned church in Hamilton, Ontario, Little Hell’s most memorable moments arise when the striped-down guitars and percussions meet the cavernous acoustics of the church. The aforementioned “The Grand Optimist” is stunningly beautiful: a chilling acoustic track fit for quiet reflection. “O’Sister” is a tear-jerking, fervent plea from Green to his sister. “Northern Wind” employs natural scenery to portray Green’s longing for the love of his life.

The rare feat of escaping your past and reinventing yourself is worth adulation and reverence. Yet, Dallas Green would never yearn for either. His insecurities have become a blanket for those who feel winter’s cold creeping up on them. Perhaps that is Green’s greatest accomplishment. City And Colour’s Little Hell will most certainly go down as the closing of one chapter and the beginning of another. “There’s a degree of difficulty in dealing with me,” Green sings on the album’s title track, “From my haunted past comes a daunting task of living through memories // If we could just hang a mirror on the bedroom wall, stare into the past and forget it all.” Green’s stories are those mirrors the listener gets to look into; the opportunity Green provides for the listener to forget it all.

★★★★.5

*This review was composed by Mike Meeze