Album Review: Citizen - 'Everybody Is Going To Heaven'

The 2015 scene trend seems to be chucking a 180 and experimenting with a fresh sound: Turnover did it, Title Fight did it, and the list continues so on and so forth. Citizen haven’t missed the boat with new album ‘Everybody Is Going To Heaven’, having transmuted their raw, pop punk outpourings into dark, weighted tracks.

For the most part, that works to their advantage. The album comprises moody tunes that switch it from a passive listening experience to one that commands attention. From opener ‘Cement’, which contains a 90's tinged sound and a blunted angst, to closer ‘Ring of Chain’, the album is too full-on to half-ignore. ‘Dive Into My Sun’ signifies the jump that Citizen have made from debut LP ‘Youth’, to this, being increasingly experimental and possessing vocals that focus more on skill than emotion (though feelings certainly act as a centrepiece for this record).

Standout ‘Numb Yourself’ also exhibits that level of dainty craftsmanship; the way that the bare, heavy, passion-laden tune changes with suddenness adds to it a new depth. The vocals on the whole album are loaded, transitioning seamlessly from clean to unclean; the way that they should, from hardcore sounding verses on ‘Stain’ to the soft and vicious tenderness of ‘Heaviside’ and ‘Yellow Love’.

However, having acknowledged the value of this intense release, it’s near impossible not to mention its striking similarity to other bands around. Notably, this album points towards Brand New’s most popular offering, ‘The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me’, wearing its influences a little too evidently, down to its Jesse Lacey-esque delivery and over-inclusion of noise add-ons. But here’s the good news: if you’re a Brand New fan who doesn’t mind blatant resemblances, you’ll love this album. All we want from our favourite artists is for them to give us more; if another band can do it, why not give it a go?

This release could have gone either way for Citizen, but luckily, it worked in their favour. Fans of ‘Youth’ will appreciate its cathartic outpourings at the very least, and Citizen have come out as one of the more successful outfits of late that have decided to implement a sonic change. What remains is the stripped emotionalism that characterises Citizen’s focus, and frankly, that’s enough.

1. Cement

2. Dive Into My Sun

3. Numb Yourself

4. Heaviside

5. My Favorite Color

6. Weave Me (Into Yr Sin)

7. Stain

8. Ten

9. Yellow Love

10. Ring of Chain