Album Review: Youth, by Citizen

                  Do you hate your hometown, and do you excessively love pizza? Do you own a longboard or wear flannel shirts/skate shoes? Would you bet your life on your friends and your vinyl records?  If you answered yes to a majority of these questions, then chances are you listen to the one of the mighty contemporary subgenres of punk or rock in general:

 

Pop-punk

 

 

 

        You may or may not be familiar with this genre, so I'm going to go ahead and list a few notorious pop-punk bands. You may have heard of: Fallout Boy, Green Day, Jimmy Eat World, or Blink-182. If you have heard of or listen to these bands, awesome! If you haven't, then you're welcome to do a little listening or research as you read this review.

        Here recently, there has been a definite explosion of sorts in terms of pop-punk music. With artists such as Real Friends and The Wonder Years, the pop-punk industry has been exceptionally growing more so than ever. With this growth, we are introduced to the band known as Citizen.

                   Citizen was formed in 2009 by frontman Mat Kerekes, and their original sound was very pop-punk. However, as the band matured, they developed a more mature sound gearing towards punk and indie rock(I know, genres are confusing and in some cases irrelevant, but they're there so they're worth mentioning). This leads us to their debut full-length record, Youth.

Youth's Album Cover

        Youth, was released in 2013 on Run for Cover Records, a record label focused on alternative rock and indie rock. It features

10 tracks, and runs for approximately 30 minutes, an average length for the typical LP.

        The record opens with Roam the Room, erupting with guitar-driven chaos. It leads into a well organized song, caught in between screeching melodies begging to be released and a commanding drum track. As the opener, this track does a wonderful job of catching

 

attention. The song itself speaks of desperation through the lyrics, "It's hard to watch you roam the room, to watch you from the wall, when it's all you've got to think about." Immediately, with attention being paid plentifully, there are emotional ties made.

       The album also explores themes of loneliness, abandonment, and contemplation over past experiences. Songs like Figure You Out and The Summer demonstrate these themes very effectively through catchy instrumentals. Figure You Out utilizes a mellow drum track and melodic guitar riffage, employing lyrics such as, "I never thought the words you cast would hurt so much. For that, I won't look back."

       In my opinion, the prime hard-hitting track on this record is The Night I Drove Alone. Opening with bare-bones instrumentals and Mat's vocals seemingly pleading for forgiveness, the track is essentially an emotional rollercoaster. It explores ideas of regret and, as stated previously, contemplation of the past. With lyrics such as, "I ran away from you, and now something's killing me. You hang me up as as souvenir of what I couldn't be," this track is sure to leave you heartbroken.

    After this track, the record leads into a more pop-punk oriented vibe, with songs like Your Head Got Misplaced and the closer Drawn Out. Both of these songs feature hook-like melodies that catch you and reel you in. The perfect tonage on the guitar and the excellent tracking of the drums makes up for the repetitive aspects of this record.

    Even though this record does many things right in my opinion, there are some critiques to be made. I think my main problem with pop-punk is the lack of variation, and I am trying to be lenient in Citizen's case, for they aren't traditional pop-punk. They simply implement characteristics of pop-punk into their music (this is another reason as to why I dislike who particular people are with genres and subgenres. Music is music, man). This is apparent in their music. While their music is a different take on the cliche and is fresh in that manner, after listening through the record a few times it gets old. Because of this, I hope their sound matures with future releases and they experiment with their sound. However, the instrumentation is very complex and refreshing. The lyrics intrigue deep emotional thought, bringing up the past and touching upon intimate relationships.

Frontman Mat Kerekes

     Overall, I feel this record recieves a score of 8 to 8.5 on a scale of 10. Citizen really out did themselves with instrumentals and lyrics. The instrumentals are very, very, very in-depth and well though out, as well as the lyrics, which I'm willing to say with confidence is the strongest aspect of this record. So, if you are willing and are somewhat familiar with the genre, or perhaps you just want to listen to something new, give Citizen's Youth a try, and maybe after listening, you could respond with your opinion of the record. Or, if you don't have the time to listen to the full 30 minutes, perhaps give Figure You Out or The Night I Drove Alone a listen, and comment what you think the strong points were. Thanks for reading, and give suggestions as to what you may want me to review in the future.

 

Full Album Stream Available