This is a spring/summer guitar record that’s been designed to fall somewhere between the earthy simplicity of folk players and the flash of '70s heavy rock. There are understated flamboyant twists to the playing and sound of Ezra Feinberg (ex Piano Magic) and Tim Green (The Fucking Champs and The Nation of Ulysses). The band’s name (and the LP title) maybe be pronounced like Stevie Wonder did on "Living for the City," but this album is anything but straight urban rock.
Recorded in San Francisco, the album takes the city’s multiculturalism, open-mindedness and relaxed air and applies it to a set of songs steeped in a sound world instantly reminiscent of a moment in time but as fresh as any modern rock record. The production is perfect, replicating sounds not heard without the aid of hookahs for over thirty years. For all the flutes, bongos, ‘California’ lyrics and Mexican border vibes Citay never descends into a $10 hippy bus ride of musical tourism. It may use the palette but with here the teller has reinvented the old tales into a stretched out and relaxed mini epics.
There may be a slight edging towards the noodlier end of the world of guitar solo stars (his name begins with ‘V’ but the fear/loathing of his work prevents me from naming him) on "Vinter" but even this is playing is expertly unassuming. The slow spiralling solos and chasing harmonies of dual leads on songs like "People Person" and "Nice Cuffs" have a beautiful languid articulate feel. There are flamenco flourishes among the searching piano melody of "5" underscored by tumbling acoustic strums and west coast vocal harmonies fill up the vocal tracks.
It’s not all about the guitars though, with "Mere Woods" they score in some relaxed dusk strings and organs murmur smoothly under many of the workouts. Without the foundation of the songs, this could’ve easily been an experiment in techniques but this whole release is on the verge of perfection. It’s an absolute killer combination of sound, style and song that makes a triumphant stand in reclaiming the word ‘cool.’
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