It’s unapologetic stuff, and the band are well versed in the ways of Love, Cream, and Pretty Things by their own admission. Which makes it all the more fun. This isn’t high art, but it isn’t meant to be, and it sure is great with the lights out and the headphones on (should you find yourself by yourself). “Electric Garden” is a sweet and melodic number with plenty of harmonizing vocal tracks and ringing indie-pop guitar heavy on the upper E and B strings. “Untilted” (no, not “Untitled”) instead puts you off with the vocals, using an effect that makes them oscillate unintelligibly, but you’ll forgive them once you hear Ben Gatchell’s creative organ break, following a series of modulations back and forth from a minor-y dirge to a poppy Monkees vibe with Sterling Black’s guitars.
There’s an undercurrent of prog-rock here, too, especially in “Antique Rhythm,” where Burst delves into spoken vocals, before a sung chorus about how “the old antique rhythm finds your mind/Finds your soul.” Though not prominent in the mix, the organ work before the last verse is perfect for the mood, hopping about in quarter notes to etch out a pop hook, plus you’ve got dueling guitar breaks, just about exact but not quite, one in each channel, finally building to a crescendo that finishes on top.
The title track is the album’s penultimate, a 1:41 piece of candy, as piano and flute play together like a music box in the next room, all the instruments fall apart into madness, like whoever was playing them just got struck by rapid onset Mad Cow Disease. It’s enough to make you wish “Sidetracked by Satan #2,” a waltz, didn’t sound so final: “Take us from this place ... the one thing I know is I’ll never return.”
On the Web
Citadelle: www.myspace.com/bandcitadelle
Email the author
Sam Pfeifle: sam_pfeifle@yahoo.com
