Ben Massey | 28/07/2023
After a prolonged break away from releasing new music, genre-bending Michigan-based-rock outfit, Citizen, have released their newest single, If You’re Lonely. It'll serve as the lead single of their newest album, Calling the Dogs, which will be released in October.
Citizen boast a sound dissimilar to any other band in the alternative scene. I’d describe their newer music as upbeat and indie, yet sustaining remnants of their previous hard-core instrumentals. If You’re Lonely fits the bill here exactly. It has the sound that puts you in a good mood, yet reminds you of a sombrer past. Even the heaviest of music lovers deserve to hear something cheerful now and then, however, ever-importantly, this song remains in keeping with the deep and unexplanatory dark desires of metalheads. What I particularly love is that it takes you back to that initial stage of making music - it feels as if Citizen started jamming this song whilst in their garage, in a completely raw and artistic way of creating and consuming music - exactly how the accompanying music video depicts it.
However, If You’re Lonely is not as spontaneous as it seems, especially when considering how carefully-crafted their lyrics are. I think the lyric “When one heart is hurt, the other will answer” is so beautiful and I think it really sums up the aesthetic of the song: hopeful, tragic, and a necessary coalition of the new and the old.
I for one am very excited to see what Citizen has got in store for us in the future. Alongside Calling the Dogs, Citizen will be touring the UK and EU in February 2024 and specifically stopping off in Leeds (instead of Manchester for once!) at a brand new venue: Project House. It will be very cool to see an old-time favourite band of mine perform in a completely new, and increasingly popular, venue in my university city - see you there!
Edited by: Roxann Yus
Cover image courtesy of: Nick Hamm
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