Reviewed by Thom Gridley
Released: 1980 Citizen Sex And Society Genre: Prog Rock Rating: 3.75 out of 5 Highlights: I like You Notable: Your So Cool Secret Rock ‘n’ Roller Thought I was Tough Feel So Good I’m a Citizen Spotify Index: 5 Monthly Visitors (Whump, whump, whuuuuuuump…) Cheese puffs. Yes, Cheese puffs. Remember inhaling a whole bag of cheese puffs? Those wonderful light and puffy, dusted in pretend cheddar dust flavor, and no matter how well intended you are to eat them methodically, you end up with cheesy dust thumbprints, all over your favorite velour V-neck pullover like it’s a crime scene? Guilty. Much to my surprise, I sort of enjoyed Citizens, cheesiness, and it teeters on something, that could’ve been more memorable or meaningful, but the cheese was stuck to my fingers, and it takes 4-7 minutes to lick the digits clean. So, let’s cut to the cheese (Dad joke) and summarize this little 1980 oddity. The thoughtfulness of arrangements and musicality is quite good on this recording. The lyrics have a heavy dose of a time stamp (I guess most 80’s music does). The lead vocal performances fall a bit short, however the chorus work and backing vocals are exceptional and carry the album combined with some very well mixed and creative and catchy arrangements. It seems, like this is album was a decently funded and well produced effort. It was the only album, I could find by this band, and not much written on them. Those that had discovered them through the interweb, had a similar response, of “Not as bad as I thought it was going to be” and “I would give this another listen”. In summary, “Sex & Society” vacillates, between Queen/Joe Cocker vibes + Cars/Night Ranger-ish, with heavy doses of late prog-rock 70’s/Early 80’s trappings, that is best played in the basement on your mix and match analog stereo system (Insert Techniques turn-table, Kenwood receiver, and KLH floor speakers).
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