Citizens!
| Citizens! | |
|---|---|
| Origin | London, England |
| Genres | Indie rock, synthpop, indie pop, alternative dance, indietronica |
| Years active | 2010–present |
| Labels | Kitsuné |
| Website |
www |
| Members |
Tom Burke Thom Rhoades Lawrence Diamond Mike Evans |
| Past members | Martyn Richmond |
Citizens! are a British indie rock band from London, formed in the summer of 2010. The band consists of Tom Burke (vocals), Thom Rhoades (guitar), Martyn Richmond (bass), Lawrence Diamond (keyboards) and Mike Evans (drums). Their debut album Here We Are was released by Kitsuné on 28 May 2012 in the UK / Europe[1] and on 9 October 2012 in North America.[2]
Lawrence James Diamond is the son of singer/songwriter Jim Diamond.
History
Formation
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. The reason they started the band was to make "amazing, imaginative pop music".[3] Their bold statement about pop music is that "pop is not a dirty word, it’s a holy one!"[4]
They named the band after a headline on a Gotham City newspaper in a Batman comic[5] and they like to think of it as "a call to arms, a statement, a mark in the sand".[4]
2011-12: Here We Are
In early 2011, the band signed to French independent record label Kitsuné. In Spring that year they recorded their debut album Here We Are in Scotland with Alex Kapranos of Franz Ferdinand, who asked to produce their record after hearing one of the band’s early demos.[6] Kapranos told the NME 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."[7]
Three singles were issued from the album: True Romance, Reptile and Caroline. An EP of these tracks was released prior to the release of the album in the US. Acts such as Goldroom,[8] White Shadow, Gildas Loaëc[9] and Gigamesh[10] have all remixed their tracks.
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.[11] Les Inrocks placed True Romance at number ten on its 100 Best Songs of 2012 list.[12]
The band first began touring the UK and Europe in August 2011.[13] They have toured with The Rapture (2011), The Maccabees, Spiritualized and Two Door Cinema Club (2012).
2013 – present: Second Album European Soul
After completing an extensive world tour including Australia, Asia, South and North America, the band confirmed on Twitter in April 2013 that they were working on their second studio album.[14] Their sophomore album is titled European Soul and released officially on 13 April 2015. Its launch will be supported by a two-month-long European Tour. American dates have yet to be announced.[15]
Awards and nominations
In November 2012 Citizens! were nominated for the "New Blood Award" for Best New Band by Artrocker.[16]
The video for True Romance directed by We Are From L.A. won a number of awards, including the 2013 Fubiz Award for Best Music Video.[17]
Discography
Albums
| Year | Title |
| 2012 | Here We Are
|
| 2015 | European Soul
|
EPs
| Year | Title |
| 2012 | Caroline EP
|
Singles
| Year | Title |
| 2011 | True Romance
|
| 2012 | Reptile
|
| 2012 | Caroline
|
Other appearances
- Kitsuné Maison, Vol. 11: The Indie-Dance Issue (2011)[18]
- Gildas Kitsuné Club Night Mix #2 (2011)[19]
- Gildas Kitsuné Club Night Mix #3 (2011)[20]
- Gildas & Jerry Kitsuné Soleil Mix (2012)[21]
- Kitsuné Maison Compilation 14: The 10th Anniversary Issue (2012)[22]
References
- ↑ "Citizens! debut album "Here we are" announcement". Kitsuné Journal. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
- ↑ "Citizens! Here we are album". Homeless Tracks. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
- ↑ "Interview: Citizens!". Hooting and howling Magazine. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
- 1 2 "Citizens!". Kitsuné Journal. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
- ↑ "Radar band of the week no:81 - Citizens!". NME. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
- ↑ "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.
- ↑ "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! Biography". All Music. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
- ↑ "CITIZENS! (GoCitizens) on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
- ↑ http://www.citizenscitizens.com, 2 April 2015
- ↑ "Vote for the new blood award". Artrocker. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
- ↑ "Winners Music Video 2013 Fubiz Awards 2013". Fubiz. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
- ↑ "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.