Channeling the urgency of 80s Brit/shoegaze but with an updated sense of production values and texture, 'The Meeting After The Meeting' is the sophomore release from Greensboro, North Carolina-based Citified. With a full band in tow for the first time on record, Chris Jackson (singer/songwriter/guitarist), Franklin Kane (bass), Eric Ussery (drums), and Diego Diaz (guitar/keyboards), have racked up some serious live experience over the past two years. The resulting 7-song gem is filled with
exemplary instrumentation and attention to detail throughout. The album was engineered by highly revered Jerry Kee (Superchunk, Portastatic, Kingsbury Manx) at his Duck-Kee studio in Mebane, North Carolina.
Reviews from 2008 "The Meeting After The Meeting" release:
"Citified’s tendency to create unique moments within songs is what makes their music stand out and it’s “Read Like a Number†that ends up being the crown jewel of the record...a band who bears repeated, careful listens revealing a divine craft for layered production." - Aquarium Drunkard
"If anything, this is well-considered pop music, capped by sudden moments of phosphorescence and careful moments of comedown. Oh, and it's very good." - Grayson Currin, Independent Weekly
"Teetering between the slow strum of The National and the lighthearted keyboarding of The Shins, The Meeting After The Meeting helps to support the claim that sometimes less is, in fact, more." - Southeast Performer
"Perfectly haunting, dream-like music suitable for a cup of coffee on a rainy day, getting through a horrendous breakup, or enjoyable within the intimate, sufficiently dark Galaxy Hut...their kicks are pretty fascinating" - Express (The Washington Post)
"When albums come out that are honestly fantastic from stem to stern, it's worth noting. This year, so far, there have been two albums that have met that standard - first, the Whigs' Mission Control and now Citified's The Meeting After the Meeting." - J's Indie Rock Mayhem
"Southern-inflected folk-pop that survives on the pleasure of repeat listens—it’s too rich to take in during one sitting." - Wonka Vision, Josh Spilker
"I was rather fond of this North Carolinian band's debut album a few years ago, so I'm really happy to finally hear more from them...Another fine release from an underrated band." - IndiePages
"Their sound is a nice mix of dream pop and radio-friendly hooks, and they often remind me of local products King of Prussia or Jupiter Watts." - Cable & Tweed
"A group of outstanding musicians come together and create some of the most boring music to date...I think I’d rather eat glass." - Jersey Beat, Noah W.K.
"This is certainly a perfect record for the end of winter, a reflective album that may help you gain enough perspective to move forward into the spring. It's an ideal album that rewards attentive listening, doesn't reveal itself too quickly, grows on you with time, and turns into a record you might love for years to come." - Andy Freedman, The Guilfordian
"The distance in Jackson’s vocals fit right along with the underlying melancholic small town trappings, which was one of the things that initially endeared the bands music to me when I first discovered them." - Built On A Weak Spot
"The song (KL Gala) proves along with the rest of the record that the band can wield their influences with powerful results." - Mish Mash Music Reviews
"In case you didn't realize it, shoegazer rock is alive and well in Greensboro, in the guise of the band Citified. I've been listening to their beautiful, jangly, lush sophomore release, "The Meeting After the Meeting," which is out now on Eskimo Kiss Records. I have enjoyed this CD, which channels The Smiths and Echo and the Bunnymen at times, but really reminds me of a couple of bands I'd forgotten how much I loved: Ride and The Stone Roses." - Mann's World
"Swirling and nostalgically beautiful, this album is definitely a keeper." - Palebear.com
"The shoegazey sound on this disc is what you want to listen to on a drizzly night...The music is opulent sounding with their musical arrangements. Simply put, it's a lovely sounding EP. Now all I need is nice cup of Earl Grey." - Quick, Like A Bunny
Reviews from 2005 self-titled release:
"... a sonic masterpiece of nine introspective tunes. ... gorgeously layered guitars, pulsating bass lines, eclectic, pristine percussions and snares, and lush, romantic vocal hues. The songs are short, yet precise and quite fervent and gripping. ... Inspiring and captivating, Citified is a sonic treat guaranteed to let you soar into a higher stratosphere, all in debt to this fantastic wall of sound they found and created in Duck-Kee studios in Mebane, NC. Bravo!" - Southeast Performer
"Lush, lovely, and genuinely haunting, this wonderfully fresh and original quirky pop-rock marvel rates as one of the most fresh, arresting, and inventive debut albums I’ve recently had the immense pleasure to hear." - Jersey Beat
