Album Review: Fiction Peaks, Citizen

Brewed with the kind of patience and deliberation that befits a fine whiskey, Citizen is the first full-length release from a group who have raised their heads only a handful of times in the four years since their formation.
To date, they’ve offered us all-too-short glimpses of what they’re really about. Since the twin releases of ‘Jinx’ and ‘Before The End’ back in March, however, we knew that something big was on the way. Maybe all their careful consideration made Fiction Peaks feel like they had something to prove. And maybe that’s the reason why Citizen opens with the absolutely blistering psych-rock anthem, ‘Raincheck’. Sounding like something that slipped out of a Band of Horses album tracklist and made its way to Ireland via M83, ‘Raincheck’ sets a fabulously grandiose tone for the album.
At every turn, the Dublin five-piece prove that they have the mettle to deliver on their musical ambitions. String arrangements are no bother to them, while the spoken word segments are dished out with just the right balance of earnestness and verve. In addition, synths, samplers, drum machines and more combine to give Citizen a cohesiveness that’s as pleasing as it is unexpected. From the guitar solos and rock progressions of the seven-minute epic, ‘Shimmer’, to the Nick Drake-esque ‘Spring’s In Bloom’, Fiction Peaks clearly set the bar high. What’s most impressive is that they have gone on to clear it every time, in considerable style. Good on them.