“I’m calling the dogs and we’re gonna get rough.”
It’s been just over 2 and a half years since Citizen dropped the superb Life in Your Glass World, affirming their place as one of my favourite acts. Since then, my feelings towards Citizen have largely not changed. From their legendary debut Youth, to the more grunge and heavier Everybody is Going to Heaven, and now to their upcoming Calling the Dogs, their brand of emo alt rock has always been for me. The amount of care and emotion that is put into their songs has always been evident, despite being very accessible and pop at times too. Moreover, the whole band is talented, but vocalist Mat Kerekes is supremely talented and a large part of Citizen’s appeal.
Citizen comes out swinging on the opening track of this thing. “Headtrip” is a perfect example of how I described their sound and song writing. Both guitarists, Nick Hamm and Mason Mercer, are playing off each other intricately and their riffage is very much poppy. Then we get Mat with a consistently catchy and emotional topline. I also love the bridge on “Headtrip”; it’s one of my favourite moments on the record, in fact. “I wanna have a big headstone, yeah” is a poignant way to say so much; it’s beautiful, and Mat nails the performance with just the right amount of regret to his voice.
Despite the strong start, the following track “Can’t Take is Slow” is in the running for my least favorite on the album. It’s more rhythmic with simple hooks both instrumentally and vocally. The band doesn’t often skate into this territory, where the song writing feels like it sacrifices quality for wider appeal, but I’d say this is one of the closer examples. Despite all that, I kind of like it still. The performances are all rock solid, and the reverb on the bridge riff brings me back into it towards the end.
After a nice transition, “Hyper Trophy” has a more aggressive approach to bringing energy. To start, the bassline is more prominent, and Mat’s vocals have a hardcore cadence to them, while not screamed at all. I feel the verses do lose a bit of steam at times, but it’s forgivable. Then the bridge is quaint and playful and uses a bit of synth to bring in the last chorus which gives new life to the song.
“If You’re Lonely” was released upon the album’s announcement, and I think it was a great single choice. It comes in at just over 4 minutes, which makes it the second longest track and allowed everyone checking it out to get immersed in the first piece of new music in a while. It starts with what honestly sounds like a classic Citizen lead riff. It’s jumpy, yet peaceful, and the drums pace it perfectly. The hook of “you will call me if you’re lonely” has been stuck in my head since the song dropped, and for good reason. I think there can be one or two too many repetitions of that lyric at times, and that does pad the track length, but it’s still largely all catchy and the energy is maintained the entire time.
We then get “Lay Low” which draws on the same energy source as “Hyper Trophy” to its benefit. What the former has over the latter though is the stellar chorus here. It’s huge and full of both confidence and resolution, begging to be sung along with. I then like how the bridge is a lighter instrumental arrangement, juxtaposing the heavy nature of the remainder of the shorter cut.
“Needs” stands out right from the get-go. The instrumental work is more intricate, almost progressive, while also sounding like Citizen still. There’s also a bit of distortion used at various times to great effect. Then there’s Mat who spends most of the run time of this song laying down a fantastic topline with varying pitches and styles. And though I can’t entirely parse the meaning of the song, I do love it lyrically just by the imagery it portrays and the attitude the song’s PoV has going for them. This leads to “Bad Company” which is maybe the best song on the album. It starts nearly funky before ramping up both instrumentally and vocally into the chorus. And this chorus is top tier in every way.
“Cause I don’t want your love, your pride, your trust. I’d rather spend 100 nights alone. That’s what I want.”
That’s an all-time great one for Citizen. Just like on “Lay Low”, Mat’s vibe here is ripe with emotion, confidence, and aggression, all in the most cathartic ways. Furthermore, it was a great choice to have Mat self-harmonize with his rougher styled vocals. It just amplifies everything I said was good about the top line.
While short, “Dogs” is another great entry, maintaining the strong momentum the album has built up for itself. And this is essentially the title track, so I’d expect a great outing. It’s certainly an interesting one, and very strong in its own right. It starts a bit like “Hyper Trophy” with a bass driven intro, but darker. Mat’s vocals range from having a down tuned effect on them, to his more normal voice, to even a blackened scream. This, combined with the great performances and chunky instrumental makes it stand out.
I’m a huge Mat Kerekes fan – he’s one of my favorite people making music right now. However, I do love when Citizen tracks provide a long instrumental only section, something like on “Blue Sunday” or “I Want to Kill You.” This album is mostly void of those moments, with the exception of “Options,” and I greatly appreciate the track for that. Not only because of that, it’s one of my favorite songs on the record. This is an instance where I love the simplicity of the track. The song writing is a great vibe, relaxing and floaty, whilst packing an emotional punch via Mat’s sincerity and openness as he sings “I don’t want to be the second option anymore.” Then we get the aforementioned instrumental section that amplifies all the best aspects of the track. I must shout out the drums on this cut too. I don’t know if Mat or Ben Russin wrote them, but they excel at driving the nature of the track, and the production on them sounds great as well.
From there, we get the closer “Takes One to Know One” which in comparison, is a whimsical, short track, that almost feels tacked on when compared to “Options.” It’s under two minutes and doesn’t impress me all that much. I do like it still, I just think it’s a bit of a weird note to end the album on, though it has grown on me. Mat also packs a lot of great lyrical content into the short run time which justifies it, such as him singing “well I was made to be a grown man at 13 while you never missed a meal.” It still feels like a jam sesh more than anything, but I’ve made my peace with it.
Citizen have been around the block for a while, but I still feel like they’re underrated. They’re now 5/5 on full length releases, and I can only hope this one brings in even more fans and success for the band. There are very few weak moments on Calling the Dogs, and I think most will agree with that. It is chock full of emotion, catchy hooks, and impressive song writing, as is everything this band touches. From the more ethereal, vibey tracks like “Options”, to the bass laden, heavy ones, like “Hyper Trophy” and “Dogs,” the band is putting out a fantastic quality product.
9/10
You can pre-order Calling the Dogs here before it’s released this Friday, October 6th, via Run for Cover Records.