Citizen

As You Please

ROCKS LIKE: Brand New, Balance And Composure, Smashing Pumpkins

WHAT'S DIFFERENT: Citizen have made for one of the scene’s most interesting and evolutionary acts, shifting from passable pop punk to hazy emo and then to jarring noise rock in the vein of Brand New’s Daisy. While the BN influence and similarly dark moods remain on As You Please, Citizen are as creative and expansive as ever, yet more accessible. As You Please is patient, breathy, sweeping and slower-moving than usual, chock full of unexpected tics—tonal effects, falsetto vocal flourishes, piano, acoustic intercuts, keyboards, electronic glitches—while remaining firmly in the alt-rock lane.

WHY YOU SHOULD CARE: The latest chapter in their musical journey is rewarding enough, but it’s thematically varied and smart, too. Emotions present as tangible figures on the hopeful “In The Middle Of It All,” with its majestic, balladic verses and chugging chorus, while guilt and hopes of redemption plague “Medicine.” Mercy, or a lack thereof, haunts the last quarter, as on the late-period Crime In Stereo-esque “I Forgive No One.” A vocal effect on the chorus of “World” feels torn from a sadder, late-’90s radio rock single, and that’s honestly dope. There are minor lulls here, but enough highs to majorly please. 

OUR PICK: “Jet”

Run For Cover Records http://www.runforcoverrecords.com/