With an elaborate production and intriguing lyrics, the latest album from Citizens of Yeah showcases a project pushing itself towards sonic greatness.
Citizens of Yeah is a musical project based in Ryton, nestled within the Tyne Valley, that has begun to build a reputation for their lo-fi yet complex production.
Over the course of the last few years, the project, led by Jonathan Womack, has slowly released a number of deeply intrguing singles and an album, Thermonuclear Warmth, back in 2023, combining strong songwriting with thoughtful bedroom production.
This is something which hasn’t changed with the release of the sophomore album, People’s Republic of YEAH, which once again places a strong emphasis on production – something that has been carefully considered throughout the ten track LP.
The unique production is evident from the first track, God is my right, where the listener is immediately greeted by crunchy guitars and massive-sounding drums. Lyrically, the song confronts wealth and empire, with an emphasis on taking lessons from the past – something that forms the refrain in the chorus.
The overall tone and vibe of the track reminded me of something from Blur’s 2003 album Think Tank, with a little bit of post-punk thrown in. The production comes across as both shabby and well-put together, maintaining a lo-fi mood that hides the production’s hidden complexities.
Kimberella has a touch of Radiohead to it, with pianos added to the mix. The track combines beautiful, twinkling synth bursts within the chorus before adding some crunch later on through the guitars.
These vibes continue into song 3, Lying on the tarmac, with its dark humour interwoven throughout its lyrics. The track’s long and winding melody acts as a complex path through the song, culminating in the chorus with its sharp lyrics.
Battenburg uncertainty principle switches up the vibe, bringing in huge-sounding guitars that add a lovely crunch to the track. This brings a ’70s rock feel, especially when combined with the trademark lo-fi production. Guitar lines are often left hanging and are messy in all the right ways, bringing a loose feel that gives the song a different twist.
The complex bridges see the distortion turned off in favour of twinkling, plucked guitar lines, illustrates Womack’s talent as a technical guitarist and a production master.
The bass is also a huge element of this LP, something particularly evident on the track Survival of the fittest, which pushes the bass to the forefront of the production. The result is a strong groove that runs throughout the record.
Under a lion’s head once again gave me Think Tank throwbacks, especially with the twinkly beginning, before heading down a more folk-inspired direction with intricate guitar lines that could have featured in a Bob Dylan track.
Next up is 3 Little Piggies, featuring fellow North East group Amateur Orthologist, whom we reviewed back in October. This track served as the lead single for the LP, and we previously reviewed it in detail last year. Within the context of the album, the song shines even more.
War Dogs keeps up the tempo with gorgeous guitar lines decorating the ends of each verse, whereas Theme song for episodic espionage caper brings a larger production to the table with a spy-themed twist.
The production uses brass-inspired synths to strong effect, giving the song a grand feel, and even includes a small melodic nod to James Bond at the end of the track, which I thought was a nice touch.
The epically named Orpheus and Eurydice is heavy on the acoustics but carries the same large-scale production from the previous track. It incorporates ghostly backing vocals and a fuller- bodied acoustic sound, which grinds to a halt for the chorus before building up again.
It is a fitting closer with a great feel, the emotion of the performance bleeding through. Overall, this is a strong sophomore effort with a lot of care and attention to detail. If you like your lo-fi indie, make sure to give it a try.
Humbug North East 