Citifed in Pine Magazine (Atlanta)

Pine Magazine on recent Citified release:

http://www.pine-magazine.com/content.php?id=1314

Citified waxes poetic in sophomore release, "The Meeting After the Meeting"
By Eric Holder

Citified's sophomore release "The Meeting After the Meeting," (Eskimo Kiss Records) finishes at under thirty minutes, but what is lacks in duration it makes up for as provoking metastatic begging for headphones. To be sure, "The Meeting After the Meeting" is no sophomore slump and finds Chris Jackson and company at a creative high.

Acoustic guitar and synthesizer ominously cushion and ride along the opener, "Weddings," whose first lyric, "Open bar means I'm safe," sets Jackson off into a cool terrain of coded literate delivery you might expect to hear from the Decemberists or find on "Reckoning," REM's first turning point, and, coincidentally, their second album.

Produced by Jerry Kee (Superchunk, Portastatic, Kingsbury Manx) at his Duck-Kee studio in Mebane, North Carolina, "The Meeting After the Meeting" doesn't offend as it subtly harbors influences of Chapel Hill and Athens, circa their heyday, which is more evident in tracks like "Read Like A Number" and March Throughout Mayday," where banjo and vibraphone elegantly cohabitate.

Citified's meditation feels purposeful in its execution and proof builds a rewarding listen when acoustics fade and tone supplants meaning in the dreamy "KL Gala." Its beauty is a color, opaque enough to be either a break up album or a falling in love album, and while Citified's sound is marked by region; equally, its layered touches favor multiple listens.

Maybe it's Jackson's stoic look back that fills my two favorite tacks: "Line the Streets" and "Mascot" (fortunately for me they're back-to-back) where Citified neither obsesses on the negative nor emotes with glee, but rather surprises with the composition and care I like about the cinematic feel of Interpol and the National.

With only seven tracks, "The Meeting After the Meeting," is relinquished from other fault. With more ambiance than their debut; Citified hits their stride, let's hope it's a nice run. File under: enigmatic melodic sing along folk post new wave.

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Aquarium Drunkard Reviews New CD...

We here at Citified HQ are very excited about the new review on Aquarium Drunkard:

http://www.aquariumdrunkard.com/2008/05/01/citified-the-meeting-after-the-meeting/

"There's something to be said for brevity - albums that know when to quit and don't stick around too long. All too often I'm subjected to albums that have just too many songs, or even EPs with lackluster filler surrounding one or two solid entries. When albums come out that are honestly fantastic from stem to stern, it's worth noting.

Greensboro, North Carolina's Citified released their first album back in 2005, but its follow-up, The Meeting After the Meeting, has been worth the wait. Channeling elements of everything from the Red House Painters to REM, from Echo and the Bunnymen to a more organic Depeche Mode, Citified is a band who bears repeated, careful listens revealing a divine craft for layered production.

The melancholic, reflective "Weddings" is the EP's opener and the song most akin to Depeche Mode in style. The brooding keyboard and lyrics create an autumnal tone - "Open bar / means I'm safe" - the lyrics implying something worth drinking about. The soaring "KL Gala" holds one of the EP's finest moments - a mid-song faux-fade that makes it seem, if only for a moment that the song is left floating in mid-air. The hazy crunch of "March Through Mayday" turns Citified into a contemporary of My Morning Jacket - blissful chorus and start-stop verse riffs that tremble and vibrate beneath the uniform reverb vocals.

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. The neatly picked melody beneath the propulsive swirl of the vocals creates a mighty song that really takes off in the entry to the first chorus - four-part harmony falls into place, one voice at a time, before crashing into the chorus. It's the type of moment that makes a song and can even make an album and here, nestled among the moments that inhabit every song, it serves to push the entire EP to a point above and beyond."

Aquarium Drunkard, courtesy of J. Neas

6:15 PM - 1 Comments - 1 Kudos - Add Comment

Go Triad reviews new CD

Go Triad, 3/6/08, Daniel McMillan

Greensboro's Citified is set to release an EP titled "The Meeting After the Meeting," the follow-up to the band's 2005 self-titled full-length. It was worth the three-year wait, as this EP is a pitch-perfect encapsulation of Citified's sound.

For newcomers, the band evokes the familiar refrains of early R.E.M. and The Stone Roses in Chris Jackson's nasal delivery and the group's reverb-drenched shimmer. But as this EP demonstrates, Citified has realized its own sound: a haunting, guitar-driven melancholy that's tuneful, aloof and distinct.

This is the band at its most focused and refined. "Meeting" is sonically coherent in a way that belies Citified's age, continually consistent across these tracks. If there is fault to be found with the album, it's in the way this consistency occasionally verges on repetition. After multiple listens some songs run together, but the fact that this record will inspire multiple listens is a testament to its appeal.

Every song could be a standout track, but album opener "Weddings" establishes the record's canvas of muted tones. The emotional hook is almost overwhelming thanks to the cavernous reverb that envelops the chorus. As the ebb and flow of electric and acoustic guitar builds, Jackson's repeated confession of "If I was wrong I've seen it before" is answered by the one-two echo of tympani-like percussion.

"March Through Mayday," the penultimate track, stands out for its difference, subtly playing on alt-country. The song wafts from the speakers on waves of hazy tremolo-touched distortion and a beat reminiscent of a country shuffle dropped down a well. The minute-long instrumental outro weaves banjo and a sparse synth tone in a way that's idiosyncratic and familiar, catching you by surprise while feeling like a meeting between old friends.

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Independent Weekly reviews The Meeting After The Meeting...

Independent Weekly
by Grayson Currin 3/5/08

Since its eponymous debut, Greensboro quartet Citified has stretched things out, slowed things down. It's done so much of that, several writers have called the seven-song follow-up EP, The Meeting After the Meeting, shoegaze. But don't be alarmed: Citified moves with too much pulse and too little abrasion to fall squarely in the trail etched by My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive, its songs bouncing between parts a bit too enthusiastically for that whole scene. Schematically, sure, Citified stretches hooks and guitar lines, letting both bask in the dim, slightly self-reflexive glows of themselves. But, texturally, there's still a lot of lift, anchored beneath by very little clash or malevolence.

Dream pop is perhaps the better comparison, but, even then, Citified's more strident with its transitions and more transparent with its sounds. A banjo doubles an acoustic guitar on the bridge of "March Through Mayday," both overtaken by a slowly advancing electric guitar. Most songs are built from acoustic layers and steady drums. So as not to cover the clean core beneath, the band keeps distortion and manipulation low and the reverb high, letting the natural decay between notes guide the layer. Both over and under steady drums and strums of "KL Gala," Diego Diaz' electric guitar hangs and slides notes, letting the distance between shape the sound. On closer "Bled in an Ocean," the notes are faster, but—gauzed in reverb—they create clouds alongside the hook.

But Citified's chief smarts are structural: The band often twitters just so it can distend, as on the nervy "Line the Streets." A shaky, post-punk electric guitar introduces the theme, subsumed and slowed by a marching acoustic. Its pace is anxious, but when the song opens into the chorus, the vocals float like a welcoming sigh of relief. And "Mascot," the most ambitious track here, packs a perfect mess of movement in four and a half minutes, pitting several rhythms against one another, trim washes of guitar fighting against the pace, eventually stalling the whole thing into a snap-out anticlimax. 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.

11:43 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

J’s Indie Rock Mayhem Review
Category: Music

There's something to be said for brevity - albums that know when to quit and don't stick around too long. All too often I'm subjected to albums that have just too many songs, or even EPs with lackluster filler surrounding one or two solid entries. 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.

When last we saw Citfied their debut self-titled release was clocking in at 11 on the J's Indie/Rock Top 25 albums of 2005. It's been a decent wait since then, but the results were worth it. That first LP was put together almost entirely by one man. Now, for the first time on record, Citified is a true band, and the difference is obvious. Where the first album used a mixture of programmed drums and guitar work to create a detached and cool result, the new full-band recording is much warmer, much more focused and vibrant.

Channeling elements of everything from the Red House Painters to REM, from Echo and the Bunnymen to a more organic Depeche Mode, Citified is a band who bears repeated, careful listens revealing a divine craft for layered production. The melancholic, reflective "Weddings" is the EP's opener and the song most akin to Depeche Mode in style. The brooding keyboard and lyrics create an autumnal tone - "Open bar / means I'm safe," the lyrics implying something worth drinking about. The soaring "KL Gala" holds one of the EP's finest moments - a mid-song faux-fade that makes it seem, if only for a moment that the song is left floating in mid-air. The hazy crunch of "March Through Mayday" turns Citified into a contemporary of My Morning Jacket - blissful chorus and start-stop verse riffs that tremble and vibrate beneath the uniform reverb vocals.

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. The neatly picked melody beneath the propulsive swirl of the vocals creates a mighty song that really takes off in the entry to the first chorus - four-part harmony falls into place, one voice at a time, before crashing into the chorus. It's the type of moment that makes a song and can even make an album and here, nestled among the moments that inhabit every song on the album, it serves to push the entire album to a point above and beyond.

The Meeting After the Meeting marks a moderate but important step forward for Citified. Now that the full band has had a chance to make its mark on wax, there is a lot more potential for where the band can take future recordings. This is an EP of fragile strength and depth and it's also one of the best records I've heard in recent memory.

http://qfsmayhem.blogspot.com/2008/02/now-departing-citified-meeting-after.html

8:48 PM - 1 Comments - 1 Kudos - Add Comment

New EP Update...

We've wrapped up the new EP (now 7 songs) with Jerry Kee and it's entitled "The Meeting After The Meeting".

Tracklist as follows:

1. Weddings
2. Read Like A Number
3. KL Gala
4. Line The Streets
5. Mascot
6. March Through Mayday
7. Bled In An Ocean

Hope to have cds in hand by first of the year.

I also bought a trailer hitch.

New tour dates on the way...

8:06 PM - 2 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

New EP on the horizon...

We're finishing up a new 6-song EP with Jerry Kee at Duck-kee Studio in Mebane, NC. A slew of shows to support the release will begin mid-February.

I'm also getting a trailer hitch for the car so we can pull band equipment. It should be much better than taking several vehicles up and down the east coast...it's our way of going green.

See you soon...

9:54 PM - 2 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

"Compulation Two: Songs From North Carolina"...

Citified is honored to be part of Pox World Empire's second compilation CD featuring NC artists entitled "Compulation Two: Songs From North Carolina".

We've contributed a new song, March Through Mayday, and are playing a couple of shows to help promote the release.

Checkout the info and be sure to attend one of the many release parties planned in North Carolina...admission includes a copy of the CD!
http://www.poxworldempire.com/compulation2/index.htm

3:20 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Citified now on iTunes and eMusic.com!

Citified tracks are now available on iTunes and eMusic.com.

Download.

Thank you.

5:33 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Scott Elingburg of Trial/Revolutions review...

Be sure to checkout Scott's Trial/Revolutions blog, he's a great guy!

http://www.trialrevolutions.blogspot.com/

Citified – S/T (Eskimo Kiss Records, 2005)
8.7 out of 10
Capturing the sound of distance and disparity isn’t an easy task, especially when it comes to music. A few artists have managed to do so accurately within the last decade or so, but those tend to be the ones that bounce through our heads after we’ve fallen asleep. Most recently, Sun Kil Moon perfected the sound of distance (something The Red House Painters had been trying to do for years) with their sprawling-yet-intimate “Ghosts of the Great Highway.” Before that, there were about a dozen or so bands with the ability to convey intimacy through songwriting and music combined. I believe it’s safe to say that R.E.M.’s “Murmur” claims that stake without much competition.
Taking their lessons from these great bands, Greensboro, North Carolina’s Citified has made a convincing case to be placed among the ranks with their self-titled album. Filled with evocative vocals and hollowed out guitar sounds, Citified has created an album that could pass as the soundtrack to both Christmas and summer—a quality that makes it listenable at all stages of the day, pre-dawn to post-midnight.
There’s enough reverb here to satisfy your midnight loneliness, and enough punch to keep you in steady motion while walking. But the strength of Citified lies in the functionality of the album as a whole. Coming in just under 19 minutes, there’s no room for filler, there’s just a short trip of an album that will get you wherever you need to be in a day’s time—twice.
While I can imagine other listeners being put off by the relatively short nature of the record, the more you listen to it, the more you realize how much the length benefits the subject matter. Distance—a key theme to the record as evidenced through titles (“Overseas,” “Going Places,” and “Stopping the Clock”)—is best conveyed in repeated short bursts like day trips or stop lights, because that’s when it’s most apparent to our minds and ears. As such, multiple listens are not only recommended, but required, because what Citified has managed to do is eliminate all of the excess of rock/indie rock and focus in on the experience and continuity of listening—a trait that somehow goes overlooked in most bloated, 13-14 song, albums.
Chris Jackson’s vocals and mysterious lyrics keep the songs afloat, and when he steps away from the mic, a single, jangly guitar line—often just two or three notes—picks up right where he left off. For example, “Secret Knock” is lifted to a whole new level by eventual fade of Jackson’s vocals and lyrics, and a breakdown that culminates in a picked acoustic guitar and a tenor cry. “Going Places” has the best accentuated two note guitar lick I’ve heard in a long time, not to mention the most haunting melody of all the songs on the album.
Citified’s album cover shows an extreme close-up of buildings and skyscrapers in an exaggerated, silver-age comic book color format. It reminds me of Seurat’s pointillism, and the theory that accompanies it: up close the picture appears blurred and spotted, but the farther one moves away from it, the clearer the picture becomes.
By placing distance into their music, but remembering that the whole is greater than the individual parts, Citified have accomplished with incredible accuracy what many artists fail to do: create a solid album that is both evocative and indicative of the landscapes within the listener’s own mind.

7:16 PM - 1 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment