“This is going to be our last London show for a while.”
It’d been a while since we’d last seen this midwest-American band perform a headline show in the U.K. The closest came last year in the form of a support slot for fellow post-hardcore contemporaries The Story So Far. Yet at the ex-servicemen’s club in Hackney, Citizen looked to ride the popular tide of their ‘most atmospheric record yet’ released back in 2017, As You Please - safe to say this show had been a long time coming for many of the die-hard fans packed into the glitzy, 100-cap venue.
Citizen imminently commenced this tide with a slew of tracks from their latest 3rd LP, namely ‘Jet’, ‘Fever Days’, and ‘In the Middle of it All’, containing a notably more refined sheen to the post-hardcore facade. The repeated cries of “you put my back to the wall” commenced the incessant clamouring of the crowd to get as close in proximity to the on-stage act led by frontman Mat Kerekes. Along with the atmospheric distortions and outpouring of lyrical emotions, this stylised post-hardcore genre is nothing new to these beloved fans - pertinently made popular by Citizen’s noteworthy predecessors of American Football, Into It. Over It., and The Wonder Years.
In spite of my reserved preference for Citizen’s latest LP showcasing their improved songwriting and lyricism, the majority of their set this evening incorporated their debut LP of 2013, Youth. Once again, the repeated heartfelt cries from Kerekes were constantly reciprocated by the crowd alongside blankets of distorted atmospherics, with such exclamations of “do you sleep anymore?” and “I got sick and impatient”. As the evening progressed, it became clear my reservations were not among the main consensus from the sold-out audience tonight - exhibiting their welcoming reception for Citizen’s debut LP - with ‘Sleep’ and ‘The Night I Drove Alone’ as particular fan favourites.
“We’re just gonna stay on stage cause we’ve nowhere else to go...”
After realising the restricting nature of the stage layout between the main set and encore, the 5-piece act eventually met the crowd’s demands in the encore with their yearning of further tracks from the aforementioned LP. ‘The Summer’ delved us back into the recognisable concoction of pseudo-singing/screaming from Kerekes, exuding the albeit corny lyrics of “I watched you burn and I felt it”. Nevertheless, the punkier sheen to the finale track’s guitar riffs, ‘Roam The Room’, engaged the crowd one last time in wrecking the rudimentary overhead lighting and screen projector - soon dilapidated in a carnage of stage divers and crowd surfers.
Given the extreme intimacy of this ex-servicemen's club, filled to the brim with beloved fans, along with the extensive discography from Citizen and the not-so-cheap ticket prices - the act failed to pass the 45-minute mark for the duration of their set. Whilst this may stem from the band’s need for an extended break or hiatus, it’s frankly inexcusable to short-change such die-hard fans in this particular facet of their live performance. Unfortunately, the enjoyability of this set was obscured by this particular fact and one can only hope this act look to rectify this for the future - as well as their overall sound which seemed comparatively trite to their emo/post-hardcore contemporaries of PUP and Foxing. We all hope this Midwest band rests well for now and anticipate an exhilarating future for the beloved act: sincerely, from a country longing to see more.
6/10
Citizen's latest LP, As You Please, is out now and can be found here.
All photos are courtesy of Rachael Dowd at Highlight Magazine which can be found here.
Kommentare