"Life In Your Glass World"; Citizen's Most Daring Record:

Citizen’s fifth LP,”Life In Your Glass World,” marks a major moment. Not only with the sound of the record, but the feelings of it and the story behind it. Recorded for the first time in frontman Mat Kerekes’ hand-built backyard studio, the album breaks the group’s two-year release cycle. The extra time and attention behind the album is clearly recognizable. Filled with unique sounds and raw emotional moments, “Life In Your Glass World” invites listeners into a space that feels both personal and interesting.

From the very beginning of the album, you can hear the difference from Citizens earlier work. Immediately sounding more experimental. The album opens with

"Death Dance Approximately," an energetic and catchy opening, that will be stuck in your head. The chorus cuts through like an anthem for emo lovers, and it's impossible not to sing along. "I got this aching that's taking over. Everyday it keeps on getting a little worse. I beat myself down until I cave in. I will pry and I will claw just to be heard."

Again, the next track "I Want to Kill You" starts off aggressive and loud with blasting drums, and a fuzzed out guitar riff. The vocals are so calmly aggresive, and you can just hear the anger in such a subtle vocal take. The tension builds perfectly into yet another outstandingly catchy chorus, and lays the foundation for the rest of the track. We ride out the track to the end with beautiful lead guitars filling the background, emotional lyrics, and blasting drums.

The first time we truly get to hear this new experimental Citizen is on the next track "Blue Sunday." Mat takes on a new approach to the vocals here, and has some really cool effects and delay on them. The song is full of synths and strange noises, but still keeping that Citizen feel with a nasty bassline and drum groove. Leading into the chorus is one of my favorite moments of the whole record. Where you might think you hear a synth or a modulator on some keyboard, it's actually a chopped up vocal ran through Melodyne. It is for sure be one of the coolest moments on the album to me.

"Thin Air" is next, and it has a more chill vibe compared to what we've heard so far. This song brings a more mild feel, and a more classic Citizen feel. Still very interesting, and the melodies are some of the best on the album. I'd say the same about the lyrics also. The vibe is a major contrast from the next song though."Call Your Bluff" is one of those songs that immediately gives you the stank face, and the hi hats are going insane the whole time. It just gets the blood going, and has a certain energy that you can't shake off.

The next couple of tracks "Pedestal" and "Fight Beat" are two more rippers that really showcase the range and talent of bassist Eric Hamm. I mean, what's nastier than that bass tone on "Pedestal ?" Both songs are driven by the bass in my opinion, and they both have unique feels. Really punching hard and grimy to start off, but then you get to "Fight Beat" and the bass just glides through the mix and bounces so smoothly. Even with crazy samples and noises going on, you never lose track of the bass on either of these tracks. Eric has some of my favorite bass lines ever.

"Black and Red" has always felt the most like a Citizen song to me. I say that because when I first heard this record, I was hooked on "Youth" and "As You Please" pretty hard and I loved that aggressiveness and raw emotion. I was super into Mats vocals, and the way he expressed himself, but also just the music itself was really fun for me. I feel like this song kind of channels that older Citizen feel, and feels more like a straightforward Citizen track. It's a really fun track, and it's cool to feel that older vibe from them on such a creative and interesting record. It's almost like a journey back before the album closes out.

We get to hear some acoustic guitar on two tracks before the albums end, with "Glass World" and "Winter Buds." I also want to highlight the lyrics in these songs, because they are some of the best to me. These last few songs feel the most emotional and stripped back. Compared to the rest of the album, they definitley feel more dark and sad. The music is mostly chill, until we get a surprise solo from guitarist, Nick Hamm. Which is not something typical for Citizen, and I couldn't even describe the feelings I had when I first heard that solo lol. It was a very pleasant surprise for me.

"If life in your glass world makes you feel so alone

Then why don't you say so?

And I'll meet you somewhere when the world turns dark and cold

If you would just say so" - Glass World

"Tell me what you want. Tell me if I'm strong enough." - Winter Buds

The lyrics here just really hit home for me, and the two tracks back to back are just an experience itself. I think these 2 tracks are my favorites from the album.

To close the album we get "Edge Of The World" which is really a blend of everything I have mentioned already. Amazing lyrics, grooving drums, nasty bass, fuzzy guitars, vocal effects and everything in between. The final minute is like rising from the ashes, opening up to a beautiful section of the song with synths and Mat driving home the song with his powerful words and vocals, all to end it with some simple and subtle guitars. This track is massive in my opinion, it has depth and it's intriguing, the melodies are great and the words are so powerful to end it.

"But at the end of the day, there is beauty in tragedy

I hope you find what you need

I hope it's everlasting

I hope you learn to love yourself" - Edge Of The World

This is a huge album for me, and it's probably my favorite Citizen record. Being another album that came out during COVID, it was already a tough time for everyone, and the world was just feeling alot darker and more isolated. So, when I got little pieces of joy, I held onto them and cherished them. I remember listening to this album when it came out, and just being so happy to have fresh music to listen to. I learned probably every word in the first week, and bought tickets for the tour as soon as it was announced. It was such a huge spark that I needed to shake the slump COVID had me in. I'll admit that I enjoy a lot of sad music, but sometimes that's not exactly what we need to shake a funk. So when this came out, it was like the one album that got me excited, and I wanted to drive around and bump it as loud as possible. Yeah, it's got some sad moments and emotional lyrics, but it's so much more than that. It's like breaking out of your shell, and getting over the funk. I felt that in the music, it had been years since a Citizen record, and then here they come with this? Oh man, it was a sign to get off my ass. I was so moved by this recrd, and then the alternate versions came out and deepened that love and appreciation ten fold. I can't get over how great Citizen is, and how they can adapt and shift with time. Their growth is evident in the music, and they never stop. Shoutout to those guys for always putting in the work to please our ears.

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A Conversation With Mat Kerekes:

EH:  “Life In Your Glass World” is such a unique title. Is there a story behind it?

MK: It stems from the chorus of the song “Glass World.” We’re from Toledo, Ohio, which is known as the “Glass City,” so it represents our home. When I was writing those lyrics, I wasn’t thinking about Toledo but rather about someone who feels fragile in general. Over time, though, things tend to take on new meanings, and the title feels bigger than what I was writing about at the time.

EH: You built the studio at home with your brother and recorded this album on your own. Do you think that made the album special in any way?

MK: The record feels very homegrown to me, and that has a lot to do with it. We had never self recorded before, so it was a learning process. Everything was on our terms with no outside perspective whatsoever. That felt really cool to me then and still does now.

EH: You’ve mentioned using Cole’s 4038 and Warm Audio WA-47 microphones on the record. Was there anything else that you think was crucial to the albums sound?

MK: Tube drive is used heavily on the record. I was using the Thermionic Culture Vulture in particular on a lot of stuff which definitely has a “sound”.

EH: You recorded alternative versions for over half of the album; how did you choose what songs? Did any get cut?

MK: Unfortunately, there’s no sentimental answer here. These days, people constantly pester you for content. Recording an entire album is somehow not enough anymore. I was told to make alternative versions of songs for streaming, so I did. I just picked the ones I felt could translate well in other forms and knocked them out pretty quickly. I think it took me about six hours to do all of them. 

EH: The alternative version of “Glass World” brings an entirely new feel to the song. Was there any inspiration for the sound?

MK: I’m definitely most excited about the “Glass World” alt. Sometimes I feel like if the energy isn’t kicked up a few notches, it doesn’t feel like Citizen. It was fun to throw that mindset away, strip out any aggression from that song, and keep it pretty.

EH: Do you have a favorite memory from the recording sessions?

MK: Life was changing pretty drastically at the time, and I remember wishing we weren’t recording. I’d get into the studio and rush through each day, just trying to finish. Life in Your Glass World is my favorite Citizen record now, and it’s funny because it’s the record I felt the least invested in while making it. I don’t have many good memories from it, yet I’m the most proud of it. My favorite memory was probably shutting my computer off when it was finished.

 EH: Which song was the most fun for you to record and produce?

MK: “Edge of the World” was a lot of fun to make. Nick told me to just “go crazy” with the synths at the end. One day, when I was alone, I just kept layering and layering. During the mixing process, I was on the phone with Mark Needham. I kept saying, “The synths need to be louder.” He’d bump them up, and I’d tell him to go further. Eventually, he said, “Hey man, I’m not turning these up any louder. I can’t even hear anything else.” It was pretty funny.

EH: What would you consider some standout moments on the album?

MK: “I Want to Kill You” is my standout. I remember when I first showed everyone that demo. You could just feel the excitement. We were all pretty burnt out on Citizen at the time, but that song reignited our energy and it felt like it breathed life into us again. It’s still my favorite Citizen song to this day. 

EH: I know you’re a Mortal Kombat fan, but who is your favorite character to play with?

MK: Depends on the game! I played a ton of MK11 when it came out, and I really loved playing as Jade.

EH: If you only had one album you could listen to for the rest of your life, what would it be?

MK: I think I’d choose Third Eye Blind’s self-titled record. It’s got every emotion covered, so I feel like it would be useful in all scenarios.

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 Thank You so much Mat!

I can't wait to see how much more Citizen can grow

Everyone go stream Citizen right now!

See ya next week - Ethan