Citizens!
| Citizens! | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Background information | |
| Origin | London, England |
| Genres | Indie Rock, Synthpop, Indie Pop, alternative dance, indietronica |
| Years active | 2010–present |
| Labels | Kitsuné |
| Website | www.citizenscitizens.com |
| Members | Tom Burke Thom Rhoades Martyn Richmond Lawrence Diamond Mike Evans |
Citizens! are a British indie rock band from London, formed in the summer of 2010, consisting of Tom Burke (vocals), Thom Rhoades (guitar and vocals), Martyn Richmond (bass), Lawrence Diamond (keyboards) and Mike Evans (drums and vocals). The band's debut album, Here We Are, was released by French independent record label Kitsuné on May 28, 2012 in UK and Europe,[1] and on October 9 in the U.S. and Canada.[2]
History
The band formed in the summer of 2010, when Mike, Tom and Lawrence, previously of Official Secrets Act, sat together at a rather disappointing house party, listening to music. The three of them met Martyn through a mutual friend, and Thom later, after an old friend of the band suggested him to them. Until then, Thom had been considering a semi professional football career, but decided to pack it in for music.[3]
They named the band after a headline on a Gotham City newspaper in a Batman comic[4] and they like to think of it as "a call to arms, a statement, a mark in the sand".[5]
In January 2012, the band was listed by NME as One of the 20 Most Exciting New Bands of 2012.[6]
Here We Are
| Here We Are | ||
|---|---|---|
| File:Here We Are.jpg | ||
| Studio album by Citizens! | ||
| Released | May 28, 2012 | |
| Recorded | 2011 | |
| Length | 38:33 | |
| Label | Kitsuné | |
| Producer | Alex Kapranos | |
| Singles from Here We Are | ||
|
||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    [7] |
| The Fly | [8] |
| musicOMH | [9] |
| NME |   [10] |
| No. | Title | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "True Romance" | 4:01 | |
| 2. | "Reptile" | 3:48 | |
| 3. | "Caroline" | 2:54 | |
| 4. | "Love You More" | 3:20 | |
| 5. | "Let's Go All the Way" | 4:11 | |
| 6. | "(I'm In Love with Your) Girlfriend" | 3:17 | |
| 7. | "Nobody's Fool" | 3:30 | |
| 8. | "Monster" | 3:38 | |
| 9. | "She Said" | 2:51 | |
| 10. | "I Wouldn't Want To" | 3:13 | |
| 11. | "Know Yourself" | 3:55 |
In early 2011, the band signed to Kitsuné and recorded their debut album in spring that year, in Scotland with Alex Kapranos of Franz Ferdinand, who asked to produce their record after hearing one of the band’s early demos.[11] Talking about Citizens!, Alex Kapranos said that "there are only three or four bands a decade that really matter. Citizens! sound like one of them to me. They do something you haven't heard before, yet you feel they've always been in your life. They sound fresh because they aren't followers - they have the balls to do something new and it sounds good."[12]
Citizens!’s debut album, Here We Are, was released by Kitsune in UK and Europe on May 28th, 2012,[1] and on October 9th, same year, in the U.S. and Canada.[2] Three singles were issued from the album: True Romance, Reptile and Caroline, while Let's Go All The Way was released to radio in Germany, but no official single was produced. Caroline was released as an E.P. prior to the release of the album in the U.S. Acts such as Goldroom,[13] White Shadow, Gildas Loaëc[14] and Gigamesh[15] have all remixed their tracks. Their first single, True Romance, had 3 videos made for it, including versions directed by High 5 Collective[16] and We are from L.A.[17]
Here We Are received generally favourable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 69, based on 7 reviews.[18]
Les Inrocks placed True Romance at number ten on its 100 Best Songs of 2012 list.[19]
Style and influences
Citizens!'s sound has been described as "Hot Chip meets Franz Ferdinand".[20] Their musical influences include musicians like David Bowie, Franz Ferdinand,[21]Michael Jackson, Kanye West, Martin Rev, Queen,[3] and The Flaming Lips.[22] Their style has been described by NME as being “sharply glamorous with a dash of Bowie and a glance of Franz. Citizens!’ disturbingly danceable electropop is rising, with help from Eddie Argos and David Lynch.”[4] The reason they started the band was to make "amazing, imaginative pop music".[23] Their bold statement about pop music is that "pop is not a dirty word, it’s a holy one!"[5]
Awards and nominations
In November 2012 Citizens! were nominated for the "New Blood Award" for Best New Band by Artrocker.[24]
Tours
The band first began touring in UK and Europe, in August 2011.[25] They have toured with The Rapture (2011), The Maccabees, Spiritualized and Two Door Cinema Club. In 2012, Citizens! have played several festivals all over the world:
- Sziget Festival (Hungary)[26]
- Summer Well Festival (Romania)[27]
- Rock en Seine (France)[28]
- Reading and Leeds (UK)[29]
- Parklife Tour of Australia (Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide)[30]
- Ooh la LA Tour of the U.S.[31]
- CMJ Music Festival (U.S.)[32]
- Les Inrocks Music Festival (France)[33]
Soundtracks
Their song, True Romance, has been used on various TV programmes such as Made In Chelsea[34] and Teen Wolf.[35]
True Romance is also used for the 2012 ad campaigns for "Chanel - The little black jacket"[36] and "Gucci: Icons of heritage".[37]
References
- ^ a b "Citizens! debut album "Here we are" announcement". Kitsuné Journal. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
- ^ a b "Citizens! Here we are album". Homeless Tracks. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
- ^ a b "Ones to watch - Citizens!". Clash Music. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
- ^ a b "Radar band of the week no:81 - Citizens!". NME. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
- ^ a b "Citizens!". Kitsuné Journal. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
- ^ "20 Most Exciting New Bands of 2012". NME. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
- ^ Phares, Heather (October 9, 2012). "Citizens!: Here We Are". Allmusic. Retrieved Jan 6, 2013.
- ^ Leivers, Dannii (May 24, 2012). "Album Review: Citizens! – Here We Are". The Fly. Retrieved Jan 6, 2013.
- ^ Davies, Ruth (May 28, 2012). "Release: Citizens! Here We Are". musicOMH. Retrieved Jan 6, 2013.
- ^ Beaumont, Mark (June 25, 2012). "Album Review: Citizens! - Here We Are". NME. Retrieved Jan 6, 2013.
- ^ "Citizens! - Here we are". Rave Magazine. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
- ^ "Band Crush - Franz Ferdinand on Citizens!". NME. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
- ^ "Citizens! - Reptile (Goldroom Remix)". Binary Entertainment. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
- ^ "Citizens! 'True Romance' (Gildas Kitsuné Club Night Remix)". Harder Blogger Faster. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
- ^ "Kitsuné Maison 14 - Citizens! "True Romance" (Gigamesh Remix)". Kitsuné Journal. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
- ^ "Citizens! - NME's radar tip of the day + New video clip of "True Romance"". Kitsuné Journal. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
- ^ "True Romance - Citizens!". We are from L.A. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
- ^ "Here We Are Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
- ^ "Nos 100 meilleures chansons de 2012: le top dans l’ordre". Les Inrocks. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
- ^ "Citizens!". Rotown. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
- ^ "Citizens! 'Here we are'". The Fly. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
- ^ "Citizens!: For those who want to 'dance through dark times'". Elle Fashion Magazine. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
- ^ "Interview: Citizens!". Hooting and howling Magazine. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
- ^ "Vote for the new blood award". Artrocker. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
- ^ "Citizens! Biography". All Music. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
- ^ "Sziget Festival". Sziget Festival. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
- ^ "Citizens!". Summer Well. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
- ^ "Citizens!". Rock en Seine. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
- ^ "Citizens! at Reading Festival". Reading Festival. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
- ^ "Citizens!". Parklife. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
- ^ "Citizens!". Ooh la LA Festival. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
- ^ "CMJ 2012 Preview: 10 bands to add to your docket". The Owl Mag. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
- ^ "Citizens!: Citoyens d'honneur". Les Inrocks. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
- ^ "Made in Chelsea Soundtrack". E4. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
- ^ "Citizens! - True romance - MTV Teen Wolf Season 2 soundtrack video". NME. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
- ^ "Chanel: The little black jacket". Youtube. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
- ^ "Icons of Heritage: The new bamboo". Youtube. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
- ^ "Kitsuné Maison, Vol. 11: The Indie-Dance Issue Review". All Music. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
- ^ "Gildas Kitsuné Club Night Mix #2". Beatport. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
- ^ "Gildas Kitsuné Club Night Mix #3". Kitsuné Journal. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
- ^ "Gildas & Jerry Kitsuné Soleil Mix". Kitsuné Journal. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
- ^ "Kitsuné Maison Compilation 14: The Tenth Anniversary Issue Album Review". Contact Music. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
