Citizen – ‘Everybody Is Going To Heaven’

By Glen Bushell

It seems like only yesterday Citizen released their critically acclaimed debut ‘Youth’, which was filled with emotive lyrical musings over melodic punk sweetness, and there’s no denying it drew more than a few comparisons to a certain Long Island, NY band. In the two years that have passed in it’s wake, the climate of modern music has made even more changes, with more bands dropping their punk credentials in favour of a more dreamy, indie sound. There’s nothing wrong with that, as all bands grow, but you would be forgiven if you thought Citizen would either do the same, or just write ‘Youth’ part two.

However, within seconds of hitting play on ‘Everybody Is Going To Heaven’, it is clear that they have done neither of those things. This is an entirely different beast, and Citizen have swerved every expectation that people thought they knew was coming. Of course this is still very much a Citizen record, but ‘Everybody Is Going To Heaven’ sees the band cast their eye on a darker part of life as they grow up from the youthful exuberance that ran through the core of their earlier output.

On the production front, they had friend/modern day genius Will Yip at the helm once again, and while the accomplished playing is what makes Citizen the band they are, he has clearly had a hand in pushing them to deliver the best they can. Every subtlety is clear and crisp, yet never too slick so as not to lose it’s potency and remains engaging throughout. The distorted, bass-heavy intro of ‘Cement’ instantly fills you with dread before a more confident vocal from Matt Kerekes pours over the top. From a lower-tone in the verses to the driving chorus, he has not been afraid to experiment with his range. The slow-burning ‘Dive Into My Sun’ meanders between both the wistful and discordant, whereas ‘Numb Yourself’ is powerful mid-paced rock track that sounds like Built To Spill if they played in a lower tuning.

The mood of ‘Everybody Is Going To Heaven’ then takes sombre turn in the shape of the spine chilling ‘Heaviside’, which largely boasts a clean guitar sound over soft and shimmering drumbeats. It also exposes Kerekes vocal as he reaches a higher register, but not in the soaring way he did on ‘Youth’, but in a more delicate manor akin to that of Thom Yorke of Radiohead. This is nothing more than a calm before the storm though. The looming powerhouse of ‘Stain’ and the harrowing ‘Ten’ sound gargantuan by comparison, borrowing from the Touch and Go Records back catalogue of bands such as The Jesus Lizard and Slint respectively, yet given a modern spin rather than sounding either nostalgic or plagiarised.

Things are taken down a notch once again on ‘Yellow Love’, which is almost suffocating in its delivery for one of the more tender moments on ‘Everybody Is Going To Heaven’. Citizen do hit their most anthemic peak on ‘Ring Of Chain’, which will surely be a staple of the bands live show, and when you shut your eyes you can almost hear a chorus of voices singing every word back at Kerekes in unison. It brings this caustic, yet ultimately cohesive record to a majestic finale.

They always say that a bands second album is often their most difficult, particularly when a debut gains the adoration that Citizen received with ‘Youth’, but the hard work they have put into ‘Everybody Is Going To Heaven’ to deliberately surpass their previous work has paid off. Without a shadow of a doubt, Citizen have exponentially raised the bar in modern rock music.

GLEN BUSHELL

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