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The Citradels leave you wanting more and more and more


The Citadrels hail from Melbourne Australia. They put out self proclaimed "anti psych wimp rock". They dropped God Bless in January of 2018. It’s the bands 8th album since forming in 2010.Their sound is fresh and eclectic. Claiming they were influenced by the Kinks, Brian Jones Massarce, Jesus and Mary Chain and the versatility of Brian Wilson, you can hear the jangly surf rock coupled with shoegazing and harmonizing. A righteous combination if ever there was one.

 Listening to God Bless was like a road trip across county. All the vistas look different some roads are smoother than others but all make for a trippy ride. The songs on this album do not mimic one another with each having a distinct flavor. The band is the brain child of Sunny Down Snuff. Snuff is a musicians’ musician practicing every day and fine tuning his musical prowess. “If I’ve got to work a shitty job for the rest of my life, but I can keep making music, then I’ll be happy doing it.” Over the course of the 8 years Snuff has gone through 15 band member to form this tight quintet consisting of Snuff, Rhys Young, lead guitarist Curtis Goodfellow, bassist Sam Heathcote, and drummer Alex Pijpers. The band states the album is a “concept album of sorts [which] abstractly explores themes of influence, religion and morality through characters from a small town gradually falling out of touch with its surrounds.”  The band possesses amazing depth and range. Each member takes his turn as the front man singer and they all play different instruments which lends to the diversity of sound styles on this album.

The song "Holy Ghost" feels like it belongs at a eulogy with the Hammond organ on full blast. They harmonize in Gregorian Chant style crooning “We love the holy Father”. Rock star altar boys singing like a psychedelic choir. In an interesting turn of events the next track "God Bless" is soaked in surf guitar heaven and rich Beach Boyesque harmonies.  The spoken word dominates this diverse track. "Believe and Receive" has an ethereal lush atmospheric shoegazing sound. Wonky synth played alongside the twangy guitar rushes this song into your system. Slow Dive and Ride came to mind while listening to this song. The track fade out brings it to a dramatic halt. "Roman Holiday" is full of rich harmonies. It took on a Parquet Courts slimmed down vibe with the aching guitar pleading to be given its due. the stark monotone vocals give way to the rolling rhythm fresh with harmony. It’s an infectious tune that will stick in your brain.  “GRC” has the band morphing into a 60s style heady indie rock land. Harmonizing like Darling Side they take this tune to great heights. The infectious guitar playing and the vocals create a heady delight. “Pictures of Uncle Arthur” is loaded with reverby guitar. The Australian accent is distinct in this tune. The crisp vocals combined with  layered melodies, strings, what sounds like a slide whistle and ending with and effective blast of a trombone makes this Beatle inspired tune a gem."Post War Preschool” is a trippy instrumental number that doesn’t' give way to vocals until 3;02 "I get up I get down." The shoegazing vibe ripples through this track.  The song last track “Dawn Chorus” congers up Beach Boy comparison. The jangling guitar and the rhapsodic harmonies. Dawn Chorus ends with a glorious hymn of strings. The abrupt ending leaves you wanting more.

What makes this band unique is their lack of fitting into a style. If I hear Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, another fine Australian band, I know its them. If I heard different songs from The Citradrels I might not be able to tell which band is playing. I love the sense of keeping one guessing and left desiring more which I am sure the prolific Citradels will provide in no time.  

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