Midwestern emo outfit Citizen has embarked on their 2023 North American tour in support of their latest album release “Calling the Dogs,” making a stop in Portland on Oct. 31 at Aladdin Theater.
The formation of Citizen occurred in a rather interesting way. Nick Hamm and his brother Eric grew up playing guitar and bass from a young age, and the two of them wanted to create a band called Citizen in high school. However, lead singer and childhood friend Mat Kerekes started a band on his own, asking them if he could use their name. Later, Kerekes asked Nick and Eric if they wanted to join, and the rest is history.
Since the band was formed in high school, each member has had plenty of time to mature in their music. Through each release dating back to 2013’s breakout album “Youth,” Citizen has effortlessly incorporated new sonic textures into their music while keeping their core sound intact. When posed with the question of specific bands remaining a constant source of influence despite these sonic evolutions, Hamm cites broader ideas rather than specific artists as the source.
“You’re a little more inclined when you’re younger to want to sound like your favorite band at the time,” Hamm said. “As we get older, we’re pulling more from a broad idea or scene, and it’s less wanting to sound like a specific band. I don’t think there’s been a constant in terms of something we have influenced from time and time again, so it’s been pretty different throughout.”
While Citizen may not refer to a specific band when making their music, each member grew up with their own unique music tastes, helping inform their playing styles while forming the classic Citizen sound. “The core sound, that probably comes more from the music that you’re informed by, lives with you permanently,” Hamm said. “You’d probably get five different answers asking each member, and we rarely land on a band that we all like.”
On top of their wide array of influences (or lack thereof), Citizen is a band who blazed their own trail upon their arrival in their local music scene and beyond. Most of the members grew up in Toledo, Ohio, which is deeply immersed in the stereotypical Midwest-emo/punk scene. While their local scene certainly played a role in their desire to play music, they took it upon themselves to do their own thing.
“We kinda had to make something for ourselves,” Hamm said. “We really had to carve out our own pocket in Toledo. There never became one sonic scene, and I think that’s had a huge effect on our fluidity and willingness to not stay in a box. We’ve never been naturally boxed in by the things happening around us in our music scene.”
Citizen is another band who has greatly reaped the benefits of their debut release. While plenty of artists who encounter similar kinds of success face them immediately, Citizen’s came at a slow and steady pace. “We didn’t see any immediate, great success from it,” Hamm said. “Its success has taken a long time for us to fully understand what it means to people. But we were young and we didn’t know how to handle that sort of success. So many people having an opinion on the music we were making as friends in a garage was a strange feeling.”
Another common feeling that musicians face after viral success is immense pressure to follow that up. Their debut album “Youth,” released in 2013, found the band fully embracing the eerie melancholy of 90s emo bands while blending ferocious guitars and drums into the fold, setting the tone for what was to come in emo. Not only did this lay the groundwork for the future of emo, it blazed a path for Citizen and going forward. And in typical Citizen fashion, they chose to confront that feeling with a contrasting approach.
“There was definitely pressure, but we ignored it,” Hamm said. “Our decision was to follow it up with an album that is almost unrecognizable from it. That was the decision we made and it was a really difficult thing because it was met to a lot of dismay, but it has given us longevity that I didn’t expect us to have.”
“Calling the Dogs” is yet another testament to Citizen’s ability to simultaneously innovate and maintain their core sound. Addictive guitar riffs and aggressive drums accompany Kerekes’ stoic lyricism while giving each melody room to guide the song, doing so with consistent fervor on each track. And given the band’s extensive history of always challenging each other to be the best versions of themselves, their live shows will be a spectacle. What better way to spend your Halloween night than witnessing an iconic 2010s emo band shred?
