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"Absence" EP out 5/26/09 on Eskimo Kiss Records
It makes sense that in a year following a reunion by one of the highlights of shoegaze, My Bloody Valentine, and a late-period masterpiece by the former Red House Painter Mark Kozelek (as Sun Kil Moon), that Greensboro, North Carolina’s Citified would return with Absence–a record that splits the difference between the softly driven lyrical work of the latter and the hazy crunch of the former. Think about Swervedriver’s gift for finding the classic pop and rock structures beneath the murk of shoegaze and you’ve hit exactly upon what Citified have created in their third release. Returning with the same lineup that created 2008’s The Meeting After the Meeting, Chris Jackson (vocals/guitar), DM Franklin Kane (bass), Diego Diaz (guitar) and Eric Ussery (drums) have created their strongest outing yet.
Working again with engineer Jerry Kee (Superchunk, Portastatic, Kingsbury Manx) at his Duck-Kee studio in Mebane, North Carolina, the band created an even more layered and thorough work than on any prior release. “Pencil Me In” and “Landlocked,” songs that echo the propulsive melody of past album highlights, anchor the record’s middle in classic Citified style. Absence also features the first appearance on a Citified album of songs by band members other than Jackson. Opening with Diaz’s “Founded,” one of the moments where the band’s debt to 80s indie-rock, and their outstanding ability to channel it, comes through clearest, the album also features Kane’s “Dutiful Scout,” a song that chimes with both the jangling guitar of classic Athens indie-rock and the swing of a Phil Spector production. Closing with the woozy “My Family Cup,” Absence is a record that revels in moments that illuminate the breadth of Citified’s influences and skill.
Reviews from 2008 "The Meeting After The Meeting" release:
"Citified’s tendency to create unique moments within songs is what makes their music stand out and it’s “Read Like a Number” that ends up being the crown jewel of the record...a band who bears repeated, careful listens revealing a divine craft for layered production." - Aquarium Drunkard
"If anything, this is well-considered pop music, capped by sudden moments of phosphorescence and careful moments of comedown. Oh, and it's very good." - Grayson Currin, Independent Weekly
"Teetering between the slow strum of The National and the lighthearted keyboarding of The Shins, The Meeting After The Meeting helps to support the claim that sometimes less is, in fact, more." - Southeast Performer
"Perfectly haunting, dream-like music suitable for a cup of coffee on a rainy day, getting through a horrendous breakup, or enjoyable within the intimate, sufficiently dark Galaxy Hut...their kicks are pretty fascinating" - Express (The Washington Post)
"When albums come out that are honestly fantastic from stem to stern, it's worth noting. This year, so far, there have been two albums that have met that standard - first, the Whigs' Mission Control and now Citified's The Meeting After the Meeting." - J's Indie Rock Mayhem
"A group of outstanding musicians come together and create some of the most boring music to date...I think I’d rather eat glass." - Jersey Beat, Noah W.K.
"This is certainly a perfect record for the end of winter, a reflective album that may help you gain enough perspective to move forward into the spring. It's an ideal album that rewards attentive listening, doesn't reveal itself too quickly, grows on you with time, and turns into a record you might love for years to come." - Andy Freedman, The Guilfordian
"In case you didn't realize it, shoegazer rock is alive and well in Greensboro, in the guise of the band Citified. I've been listening to their beautiful, jangly, lush sophomore release, "The Meeting After the Meeting," which is out now on Eskimo Kiss Records. I have enjoyed this CD, which channels The Smiths and Echo and the Bunnymen at times, but really reminds me of a couple of bands I'd forgotten how much I loved: Ride and The Stone Roses." - Mann's World
Reviews from 2005 self-titled release:
"... a sonic masterpiece of nine introspective tunes. ... gorgeously layered guitars, pulsating bass lines, eclectic, pristine percussions and snares, and lush, romantic vocal hues. The songs are short, yet precise and quite fervent and gripping. ... Inspiring and captivating, Citified is a sonic treat guaranteed to let you soar into a higher stratosphere, all in debt to this fantastic wall of sound they found and created in Duck-Kee studios in Mebane, NC. Bravo!" - Southeast Performer
"Lush, lovely, and genuinely haunting, this wonderfully fresh and original quirky pop-rock marvel rates as one of the most fresh, arresting, and inventive debut albums I’ve recently had the immense pleasure to hear." - Jersey Beat
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