N overall sound that is hard to talk about without using rea
Aquarius Records | San Francisco | 03/04/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Wow! I haven't been this excited about a new project in quite a while. Citay is a new band created by Ezra Feinberg (Piano Magic) along with Tim Green (The F--king Champs, and about a million other projects). What an amazing exercise in how you can take from influences that have been exhausted by so many in all the wrong ways yet somehow find a way to discover the gold that's never been mined before.
According to Feinberg, Citay is influenced by Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Queen, and Heart...but wait - don't think this is about irony or played-out 70's rock worship. Citay get to the blissed out acoustic moments of the above mentioned bands (think Queen II, Sabbath Vol.4) to create something that sounds so fresh, breezy and full of the right kind of dirt and sunlight. With an onslaught of guitars (mostly acoustic and including some 12 strings), nice textural sounds created by mandolin, flute, organ, piano, vibes and an overall sound that is hard to talk about without using really over the top words like..perfect! They nailed how this kind of record should sound. The guitars are so sweeping yet intimate, the vocals seep into your skin and all of a sudden it feels like the longest summer day ever, the kind that you never want to end.
I can't stop listening to this and each time I do, all I can think about is finding my old huffy and riding through dirt lots as the sun shimmers down on me and I pedal through twilight. So totally recommended!"
Black light acoustic jams
cosmokane31 | San Francisco, CA United States | 04/12/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Remember the sections of Black Sabbath's "Vol. 4" where the band would take a break from rocking and wander off on acoustic guitar tangents? Imagine a whole album of that, and you pretty much have Citay's debut. The album even has bongos, for chrissakes. But it's extremely well-done. Ezra Feinberg (formerly of Piano Magic) and Tim Green (of The F***ing Champs, and formerly of The Nation of Ulysses) combine on acoustic guitars, mandolin, and analog synths for some lava lamp-lit psychedelic folk. The only trace of Green's rocking resume is the occasional twin guitar harmony. Otherwise, this disc is full of pleasant vocals and gentle jams that your hippie uncle can get with."