Review by Shannon Shumaker
As You Please, the new full-length album from Citizen finds the band at their most emotionally vulnerable and sonically versatile yet. The follow-up to their 2015 album, Everybody Is Going To Heaven, As You Please is a dynamic, energetic and experimental release, one that has given Citizen the chance to expand on their sound quite a bit, all while still delivering that trademark grit that listeners are accustomed to.
A perfect example of the sounds explored on As You Please can be heard on the first two songs, “Jet” and “In The Middle Of It All.” While “Jet” opens the album on a more energetic note, driven by powerful guitar and bass, driving drums and emotional vocals, “In The Middle Of It All” almost feels a bit angelic and ambient, spearheaded by stunning vocal harmonies and a rather melancholy tone. Both songs promise one hell of a vocal performance from Mat Kerekes on this release, exploring his full range, from rage-fueled half-screams to soft, stunning falsettos.
The album’s title track, “As You Please” is easily one of the darker and more experimental songs on the album. Songwriting-wise, it’s a bit unconventional, which makes it a standout track even though it’s on the slower side. Then comes “Medicine,” an emotionally heavy, hard-hitting cut, and within only four tracks, Citizen have successfully delivered four distinctly different sounding, yet incredibly strong songs.
Before you even hit the halfway point of As You Please, the album is sure to take an emotional toll on you. These songs are relentless and mentally taxing, but thankfully, there are little slivers of light peppered throughout that give you a moment to catch your breath. “Ugly Luck” is one of these tracks, offering some stunning vocal work from Kerekes alongside some of the band’s most creative songwriting to date. The perfect middle track, “World” is quite refreshing as well, showcasing Kerekes vocal range in softer verses alongside aggressive, gritty choruses. The contrast between light and dark in this song is incredible, with verses carried by soft guitar and simple drums before slipping into a more distorted, haunting sound in the chorus.
The second half of As You Please is just as strong as the first, with standout track, “Fever Days” kicking off the descent into the finale. “Fever Days” is frustrated and hopeless as Kerekes sings through what sounds like gritted teeth, “I can’t give anything.” A few songs later, “Discrete Routine” is heartbreaking, but finds Citizen at their most versatile yet, with gorgeous vocal harmonies, simplistic drums and even piano spearheading this beautiful song. The following heavily distorted track, “I Forgive No One” then provides an insane amount of contrast.
“You Are A Star” is another shining moment near the end, starting off dark but ends up feeling like a beacon of hope as Kerekes begs, “Don’t let me down.” This more ambient track is the perfect song to lead into the closer, “Flowerchild.”
As You Please showcases a growing versatility within Citizen – something that they’ve been working toward since their first release. Somehow, this album manages to sound nothing like the band has ever released before while also feeling like they’ve picked up right where they left off on Everybody Is Going To Heaven. Kerekes’ voice will easily tie this album in with the rest of Citizen’s work, but as far as the songwriting on this album goes, it’s miles ahead of anything else they’ve released so far. No two songs sound identical, but flow easily together and there’s something new to catch your attention with each coming track, be it fuzzy bass, twinkling guitar, driving drums or Kerekes impressive, emotive vocals. Easily Citizen’s most dynamic release yet, As You Please not only finds Kerekes expanding on his impressive vocal range, but also provides listeners with some of the band’s most emotional and creative songwriting to date.
LISTEN TO: “Ugly Luck” “In The Middle Of It All” or “Fever Days”
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