Album Review: Citizen - 'Halcyon Blues'
Punk? Indie? Shoegaze? Alt Rock? Call it whatever you want, but there is absolutely no denying that Citizen’s new album is nothing short of brilliance.
Having seen every iteration of this band, the most impressive thing about them is their downright refusal to be put in a box. From a soul-draining and brutal album like ‘Youth’ all the way through to a beat-by-beat masterclass like Calling the Dogs’, every iteration of this band has moulded its own sound and feeling, and ‘Halcyon Blues’ is the latest shapeshift from the Michigan five-piece. ‘Halcyon Blues’ takes on a more liberated and softer sound that blends just about everything into one atmospheric package. It has the weight and the emotionally pummelling elements of the early albums with a vivacious injection of atmospheric sound blending and bright chords that see the band take another step forward in their unyielding creative engineering. The album has something for every fan past, present and future, with an amalgamation of different sounds. It’s both easy listening yet provokes emotion and punchy at times; this album can be experienced in a plethora of different ways, depending on your current mood and is definitely worth an endless amount of revisits, something the band have become greatly accustomed to throughout their tenure, but this album feels like it’s captured that mix of emotions perfectly.
The album's 11-track run holds a little piece of everything, and this is evident from the jump. The opener ‘Good Fortune’ starts off on an immediate vibrant snare roll and Ben Russin’s classic hardcore-style drumming, accompanied by an abundance of keys and guitar to create a breakneck opener. Citizen have perfected the art of putting bounce into their tracks, and while it’s littered all over this album, ‘Good Fortune’ will definitely be one of the first to come to mind when picking a track for an all-guns-blazing upbeat anthem. The energy dips and builds through the whole of side A, with tracks like the last single before the albums release ‘I Can See You From Here’ and ‘Is It In My Brain’ keeping those hi-hats rattling in elation under a blend of fast and vicious major chords, the latter of which is fused with effects and intricate sectioning that gives the song a more indie focused feel with a lot of airy and expansive notes in the chorus that burrow in your skull and refuse to leave for weeks. Tracks like the title track ‘Halcyon Blues’ and ‘Always the Last One to Leave’ strip it back to a more bare-bones, acoustic approach while still maintaining a rich, sensitive atmosphere. It’s very easy to tell when a song sounds inauthentic, but the raw emotion in the vocal performance and chord progressions makes this feel guttural and heartfelt. This slower sound feels connective and really makes it seem as if the band has hit a flow state; everything glides as it should while still portraying the grief and self-reflection of the lyrics without missing a beat.
Side B cuts straight back into one of their most brutal tracks in recent memory, ‘Matador’; this track was an easy favourite for me, it’s growling bass riff and anguished drum beats create a perfect headbanger, the softer vocal sound contrasts perfectly with the sheer aggression of the instrumentation, this track would fit in on nearly any Citizen album while still keeping its new age sound making it one of their most fluid and adaptive tracks to date, if this isn’t on the setlist I’m expecting a riot because ‘Matador’ seems to have been created for their high energy live shows. The compilation of influence really shines through in some of the B-side tracks and repeatedly surprises me upon every visit; the anticipation of what comes next is something that lends itself really well to this album as the ebb and flow of the pacing and energy allows all of the slow and elegant songs to really cut through the noise of the tracks that are definite future pit openers. ‘Smooth Talker’ and the leading single in this campaign, ‘Highs and Lows’, are brilliant examples of this new and infectiously dynamic sound as they throw the kitchen sink at the audience. It’s audacious and fun while still sounding grounded and aggressive; this tone has been built up through years of experimentation and sounds, and these two songs are Citizen at their best. Having spent a lot of time with ‘Highs and Lows’, it has planted its feet as one of the best releases of the year so far and was the perfect song to push the boat out and create an audience for this album, and hearing how well it has crossed over into their live sound will certainly solidify it as an energy booster in the middle of their set list. The album closes out on ‘Anne’, starting as a spirited acoustic ballad, and as the first verse continues, a swell of atmosphere begins to build behind the simplistic and consistent chord progression and cushioned vocals before building stage by stage into a mildly more complex variety of effects from a variety of instruments, with a truly awesome drum riff to carry the chorus. It acts as the perfect end to a brilliant new chapter in the band’s history of releases and leaves space for an immediate replay.
‘Halcyon Blues’ was an absolute pleasure to both intensely listen to and co-exist with; this is the most all-weather album to date from Citizen and paints a really exciting picture of what their future landscape may look like. I’m especially excited to see some of these tracks hit the stage when they tour this album, as lots of the songs will mould perfectly into their dynamic and dancey live shows. The depth of the content on this album is second to none and can be enjoyed over and over, so please spin this album till you can’t bear the dizziness, as it is bound to sit with you a little differently after every visit.
Words by Josh Pook
