Citizen - ‘Calling the Dogs’ review
Citizen by Jonathan Weiner
Restored to a full quintet and returned to their rock and roll roots, Citizen have released their fifth album: Calling the Dogs.
Citizen initially teased the album to us with their single ‘If You’re Lonely’. The track left us expecting more: more rock and roll drumming, more strong, leading guitar, and more pensive lyricism. ‘In pieces but held together’, Matt Kerekes - lead singer - reflects on the struggles of his childhood home. The track recognises journeys of reconstruction: of oneself rebuilt, of relationships relearned. The snare punctuates the lyrics, a musical symbol of repeated action and the alluring familiarity of past negative behaviour cycles.
From the album’s first track, it is clear that ‘Calling the Dogs’ does, indeed, expand upon the emotion and technical precision of ‘If You’re Lonely’. ‘Headtrip’ delves into identity, laying bare who they are, what they want to be, and an underlying desire to be remembered for greatness after they’re gone. The almost sedating guitar and the uniform, inflexible drum patterns are far from overshadowing the vocals. The lyrics are resolute, clear, ‘I want to be a leader’, ‘I don’t want to be a fraud’. The song is manifesting a new future, it lays bare their aspirations and allows them to shine through a subdued backtrack.
With little variation between their beats, the transition from ‘Headtrip’ to ‘Can’t Take It Slow’ is near seamless. The album’s second track is a natural progression from the first: it explores the consequences of seeking change. The lyrics mourn the past and celebrate a fast-paced present with an up-tempo beat.
It isn’t until ‘Hyper Trophy’, though, that Citizen really bring the tempo and introduce a hint of variety to their latest album. Kereke’s punchy - almost shouting - vocal style is infused with reverberation. The track captures the essence of feeling inadequate and out of place. Hamm’s isolated guitar riffs not only complement the vocals but, also, exemplify difference and symbolise distance as they are distinguished from the song’s other components. Individuals that feel they are not ‘enough’ their words and musicality reverberate, echoing in empty space. Yet each member’s talents have been brought together to form the track, the album. Listeners are brought back to the album’s single, ‘If You’re Lonely’, and its haunting lyric ‘in pieces but held together’.
Citizen are not just ‘held together’ but at their best in ‘Bad Company’. The song builds, Mercer introduces us to the song’s fun energy and it is his playing, alongside Russin on the drums, that truly makes the track. Their energy enhances the vocals and it is easy to imagine oneself singing along in later listens. An element of playfulness shines through from the rhythm guitar and drumming - in their call-and-answer-like section especially - that is often lacking elsewhere in ‘Calling the Dogs’.
‘When I Let You Down’ and ‘Options’ are two of those tracks that are slightly ‘let down’ by an absence of passion. ‘When I Let You Down’ breaks down into repeated verse and verges on indolence. Although ‘Options’ is more experimental, both tracks lack the creativity and technique that made ‘Bad Company’ so effective. And that could have really sold the pain and hurt their lyrics begin to express.
Citizen then returns to their former skillful mix of meaningful lyrics and technical skill in ‘Takes One to Know One’. An up-tempo consideration of the wealth gap and the inability for the upper classes to truly empathise with the sufferings of the lower classes. Exploring the political and social climate of their native America, Citizen are harking back to their rock and roll roots. The chorus-like chanting creates a communal feeling that is contradicted by the lyrics: ‘Well I was made to be a man at thirteen/ While you’ve never missed a meal’. The band questions whether understanding, empathy, and, as a result, community can ever be achieved within America’s wealth disparity. How can we ever ‘know’ each other when the experiences of the top and the bottom 1% differ so vastly?
From individual experience, to personal relationships, to the state of their country, Citizen can sum them all up as ‘in pieces but held together’. ‘Calling the Dogs’ is a contemplative album littered with bursts of technical brilliance and poignant moments.
Calling the Dogs from Citizen is out now via Run for Cover Records and available on all good streaming platforms.