Imagine the forces at work that brought together the talented individuals responsible for this record. And then imagine them crafting something as powerful and brilliant as Any Other City, forging a path of post-punk, that, until they laid it, didn’t exist. Now imagine that upon achieving the herculean task of making something singularly amazing, critically acclaimed, and as polarizing as this album was, walking away from it all.
Unimaginable, right? Life Without Buildings formed mid-1999 in Glasgow, Scotland, put out a few singles during 2000, released their one LP recording in 2001, and then, on their own terms, called it quits in 2002. What they accomplished with Any Other City, almost on a lark, countless other bands would have made a deal with a devil to achieve. But it’s exactly that bittersweet flash of purity that marked the existence of this band and this recording, that so beautifully amplifies the sweet.