Halcyon Blues embraces familiar Citizen territory

As such, the band’s sixth album Halcyon Blues arrives carrying the weight of nearly two decades spent navigating the spaces between emo, grunge, shoegaze and post-hardcore. There seems to be a deliberate aim to unite the urgency of their earlier years with the broader, hook-driven approach of more recent releases, but there’s no obvious reason why.

“Good Fortune” leaps eagerly out of the gate eagerly but by “I Can See You From Here”, the very next song, the energy has dissipated and that sets the tone going forward. “Highs and Lows” and the title track deliver more emotional weight and the muscular guitars that fans have come to expect. While the overall production is clean and confident it's also not especially surprising. Committed performances only get you so far and few songs, unfortunately, demand repeated listens in the same way that highlights from Youth or Calling the Dogs managed.

Familiarity, I believe, is the album's main strength but also its biggest limitation. Halcyon Blues flows effortlessly but many of its melodies and dynamics feel like refinements of many ideas Citizen have explored before, and not always the best sounding ones. “Matador” and “Smooth Talker” are perhaps the only tracks to attempt something interesting sonically and even then those moments make up scant amounts of each respective song.

Perhaps surprisingly none of this fundamentally sinks Halcyon Blues. On the contrary, it's a dependable collection of songs performed by a band who understand exactly what they do well. It just lacks that spark, or an especially unpredictable edge, needed to elevate it beyond being just another entry in Citizen's catalogue. Solid performances are great but delivering a by-the-numbers approach to the songwriting lets everything else down. Existing fans will probably find enough to enjoy, but anyone hoping for a bolder approach may feel disappointed the band weren’t more adventurous.