Last year’s album In Between continues the meandering of Paul van Dyk’s career which began with Reflections. New York City, despite or because of its gaggle of collaborators, rises above the majority of fairly forgettable tracks.

Vocalist and songwriter Ashley Tomberlin – who partnered Laurence Rapaccioli for the excellent Luminary – is the main attraction on this song. As with their lovely Amsterdam, New York City puts clear distance between the backing track and the vocals, with lyrics that recall memories of a place and time. There’s no climax to the track, nor should there be for a song that aches this much – just occasional crashing waves of sound that mark out the verses and a rhythm that mirrors the inevitability of history and that every second takes the past further away from us.

In Between – iTunes UK
Ashley Tomberlin – MySpace