Citizen - Life In Your Glass World - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

In a particularly dark and moody period of Sibylle's young life, a friend Claudine dragged her out from under the bed and took her on a road trip to Strasbourg, France ending up across the Alps in Genoa, Italy. Upon the return from this trip Sibylle felt her sprits renewed and she set out to write the song Remember the Day, grateful for being alive. Recorded in her home on a reel-to-reel tape recorder, the songs on Colour Green are intimate portraits of life's sad and fragile beauty.

Citizen have always eluded definition. The Toledo, Ohio-based four-piece have been making dynamic, wide-ranging guitar music for over ten years, challenging expectations with each new album and refusing to fit neatly in a box. On their fourth full-length, Life In Your Glass World, Citizen have crafted their most singular work to date completely on their own terms-proving that only the band themselves can define their identity. This definition meant taking the entire process home to Toledo, Ohio - the Glass City - and creating everything in-house. Recorded in vocalist Mat Kerekes' home studio in his garage, Citizen's need to continue moving forward creatively went hand in hand with their desire to be fully in control of their creative destiny. The new process afforded the band time to focus on each song's individual mood, making their signature blend of aggression and melody all the more pronounced, and even capturing appealing imperfections. The result is an album that represents the members' vision in it's purest form, something that feels distinctly Citizen while also marking the start of a fresh chapter.One of the most immediately striking elements of the direction on Life In Your Glass World is the band's attention to rhythm. Many of the songs feature undeniably danceable beats and sharp, groove-laden guitar lines, which give both the barnburners and the brooding atmospheric tracks a pulsating heart. The band's desire to assert themselves is palpable both in the music and Kerekes' lyrics, mirroring not only their creative frustrations but also a long year of personal upheavals. It's fitting for Life In Your Glass World, a record that proves Citizen's true identity is rooted in the raw energy of constant evolution.

Almost two years to the date of the of their breakthrough album, Citizen return with their highly anticipated follow-up full-length, Everybody is Going to Heaven. Haunting these ten songs is a foreboding, dark atmosphere masterfully crafted by producer Will Yip, and an immediate, intense energy is palpable from even the first grimy seconds of the opener, 'Cement.' As with every one of Citizen's releases, Mat Kerekes' signature vocal delivery here is a trademark feature, demonstrating the emotional tension that boils over on this . As cathartic as ever, he duels between a soft croon and a haunting scream, confronting his demons on tracks like 'My Favorite Color' echoing the tormented refrain, 'my heart still beats for nothing'. And while most of the record is an intense and noisy onslaught, songs like 'Heaviside' and 'Yellow Love' act as armistices, each aching in reverb-drenched consonance. Everybody is Going to Heaven is a defining record for Citizen once regarded as newcomers with undeniable potential, the band shows here that they have matured both abruptly and uniquely, with no end to their upward trajectory in sight.