CitizenAs You Please

Run For Cover Records/Cooking Vinyl Australia
6th October, 2017
5
Post-hardcore tendencies

Listening to the musical progression of Ohio & Michigan natives Citizen over the last five years, it’s clear that experimentation doesn’t always follow a strict formula, where risk (or an evident lack thereof) equals reward. While their contemporaries and fellow Run For Cover-alumni were off exploring the realms of indie pop (Turnover), 90s grunge nostalgia (Basement, Superheaven), and shoegaze soundscapes (Title Fight, Nothing), Citizen seemed somewhat hesitant and unsure of how to evolve, stuck in a creative holding pattern.

The band’s second album, 2015’s Everybody Is Going To Heaven, retconned the heavier instrumentation and post-hardcore tendencies of their 2013 debut Youth, instead doubling down on a mix of moody alternative rock. At its worst, the record was plagued by weak songwriting, lethargic pacing, and uninterested vocals. At its best, it felt like listening to the muffled noise of your neighbour playing The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me through your bedroom wall. And to be frank, the comparison to Jesse Lacey & Co is not entirely without merit here on the band’s third record As You Please, despite what the most luciferous of YouTube comments seem determined to howl into the digital void. With its repetitive and operatic refrain, single In The Middle Of It All is the most egregious offender (while also being one of the more exciting tracks on the album), and You Are A Star feels like a discarded Science Fiction B-side.

Despite this low-hanging fruit contrast, there are brief moments of instrumental brilliance on As You Please, beautifully rendered by long-time producer and collaborator Will Yip

Despite this low-hanging fruit contrast, there are brief moments of instrumental brilliance on As You Please, beautifully rendered by long-time producer and collaborator Will Yip: the crunchy bass tone that propels Fever Days; the weaving of piano and delicate guitar on Discrete Routine; and closer Flowerchild’s simmering slow-burn dynamics, a stirring example of emotional tension wrung for dramatic effect. And when Citizen nail the soft-loud dynamic which forms the backbone of alternative rock, they strike gold. Lead vocalist and songwriter Mat Kerekes delivers sub-duded verses and stratospheric choruses on Jet and World, which make for some of the group’s best material to date. However, each high point on As You Please is overwhelmed by bizarre structural choices, or moments where the record’s tone deflates—sometimes even mid-song. Songs like Medicine, Control, and the title track all try to be haunting and evocative, yet feel laboured, meandering and out of place. I Forgive No One and Ugly Luck suffer from weird tempo shifts that drain each track of any emotional nuance contained in Kerekes’ droning lyricism.

Ultimately, As You Please suffers the same fate as Everybody Is Going To Heaven, and Citizen don’t really attempt to address these shortcomings, as much as they reconceptualise them for a dose of heady introspection. It’s an album mired by inconsistent sequencing, languid pacing, and an overall lack of intimacy or urgency; destined to be cannibalised by Spotify playlists for a few standout anthems.

STICK THIS NEXT TO: Balance & Composure, Oslow, Brand New
STANDOUT TRACKS: Flowerchild, In The Middle Of It All, Jet

As You Please is available from now via Run For Cover Records/Cooking Vinyl Australia.




Latest News

MORE MUST READS >