Citizen Brings Catchy Rock to Los Angeles’ Novo

Amidst the high-rise buildings and flashy billboards in the heart of downtown Los Angeles, the Novo became a haven for fans of indie rock. Circle pits formed three stories high as Citizen and their openers took the audience on a trip through highs and lows, the soft haziness of shoegaze and roughness of post-hardcore, for the band’s North American tour in promotion of their newest album, Calling the Dogs.

Cryogeyser opened first, filling the venue with atmospheric, resonating strums. Their slower, sometimes hypnotic tracks were driven primarily by lead singer-guitarist Shawn Marom’s unflinchingly honest lyrics, delivered through a clear and melodic vocal performance. Though primarily mellow, they had sonic versatility, leaning surprisingly heavier at times, and the Los Angeles-based three-piece clearly had committed supporters attending their hometown set.

Modern Color shifted gears to the heavier end of the spectrum, their sometimes muddy, fast-paced blend of instrumentals backdropping their vocals that leaned grittier, even into full, raw screams at their most extreme. “Pale,” one of the band’s most popular tracks off of their 2020 album From the Leaves of Your Garden, epitomized this abrasive sound of despair while “Jacaranda” was cleaner overall, the high-pitched, quick math rock-influenced riffs more prominent in this track. Of the openers, Modern Color’s consistently upbeat sound energized the audience the most in preparation for Citizen’s more energetic set, sharing a similar audience with the headliner’s older work that had more post-hardcore influences.

The final opener was Narrow Head, shifting the energy back toward something calmer. Drawn-out vocals from frontman Jacob Duarte mingled closely with resonating guitarwork and sometimes grungier riffs. Seeking out a faster pace especially after Modern Color’s set, “Moments of Clarity,” their title track off of their 2023 album, appealed to me more regarding its quicker beat, more distinct vocals and chorus, and muddier sound in comparison to their more outright shoegaze tracks.

Backdropped by a minimalistic metallic curtain that colored light and projected shapes played across, Citizen launched right into their new music with “Hyper Trophy,” its quick riffs and beats backing equally rapid yet mellow vocals. It was an energetic track to start with, and though many other tracks off of the new album shared that very similar sound, the crowd was enthused by the performance of one of the new singles. In honor of this new era and the tour literally existing for the Calling the Dogs album, people barked their support at times rather than cheering.

Only the second song on the setlist, “Jet” was disappointingly the only track to play off of 2017’s As You Please. The album’s active yet dark sound with an in-between vocal style would have served as a favorable transition between the heavier older tracks and the punchier, cleaner ones of the past couple of years, which ended up alternating a little like whiplash throughout the length of the set.

Plenty of love was in the audience for Citizen’s older music, with couples leaning into each other for the slow, melancholy-tinged “Yellow Love” while the roughness of “Stain” and “The Night I Drove Alone” successfully roused the crowd and got a circle pit in motion, which shook the floor of the unconventionally elevated music venue. For the latter–arguably the song that Citizen is best known for–the band joked about struggling to remember how to play it since it was a last-minute addition to the setlist, but screams immediately broke out and screens lit the room to record from the very second that they announced its title.

Surprisingly, the set closed out with two uniquely catchy tracks off of the 2021 album Life In Your Glass World, specifically “Death Dance Approximately” and “I Want to Kill You,” rather than either Citizen’s most popular hits or tracks off of their new album. Even though they were generally fun songs, they were relatively unpopular with the crowd who seemed most familiar with the band’s oldest or completely newest work only. The choice also implied a little less confidence in the songs off of Calling the Dogs–particularly the album’s ability to keep the energy up with distinct tracks while leaving a lasting impression on the concert-goers to head home with.

Citizen’s headlining show at Los Angeles’ Novo made for a solid night of some of the best acts in the recent indie rock scene. While a hefty portion of the setlist consisted of songs from Calling the Dogs despite being on the weaker side of the band’s work–which made sense since it was what the band was ultimately touring to promote–both new and old fans left the venue that night with a sense of satisfaction to accompany them into the Halloween weekend.

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