Citay's Dream Get Together

Track List:
1. Careful With That Hat
2. Return From Silence
3. Dream Get Together
4. Secret Breakfast
5. Mirror Kisses
6. Hunter
7. Fortunate Sun
8. Tugboat

For about four years now Citay have been a revolving door of San Francisco talent; something of a commune, if you will. Rather than listing the myriad bands connected to Citay, suffice it to say, these guys get around. As it turns out, free love isn’t just a great way to spread STDs, it’s also a great formula for prog rock. On the first pass, it’s easy to label these guys as a freak-folk jam band, which is not entirely untrue. That is certainly the overwhelming effect of the finished product, but the execution is far more mathematical than spontaneous. Ezra Feinberg, the man behind the beaded curtain, is very meticulous in his arrangements which can at times feel almost techno-like (re: Ratatat). But this feeling only comes off in flashes after repeat listens. To the average listener, Citay offers crisp, breezy Californicated prog, and nobody sees the man behind the curtain, not no way, not no how.

Citay’s first two long players felt very much like extended jam sessions; if you’re not paying attention (or if you’re paying too much attention) it’s easy to miss the track breaks. Lyrics are essentially an afterthought, and are, at times, as easy to miss as the breaks. (Wait were there words in there, or just “woos?”) Essentially, the guitars do the talking. This is where Dream Get Together really breaks form. The title apparently refers to the stoner conversation on Citay.net leading up to the release wherein various heady rockers lay out their ideal band or musical experience (you can almost hear the coughing). Apparently, this concept was the inspiration for the album. I have no idea what the implications are for this album, but it seems to imply that we’re in for some more self indulgence.

Jam bands aren’t exactly my cup of tea, and I offer up Citay in defense of this taste. Jam bands are like the golf of music. It’s a lot of fun to be one of the players, but you really have to be into it to enjoy being a spectator or to even understand the various nuances and techniques. Coincidentally, miniature jams are also much more fun for everyone. So perhaps Citay keeping the concept of the perfect band in mind explains why there seems to be more focus here than previously. The first two albums start off pretty strong, but it’s pretty difficult to make it all the way through. It’s not that they’re objectively bad, it’s just all been done – several decades ago – and better, to boot.

The latest effort kicks off with “Careful With That Hat,” easily the most exciting track Citay has laid down. The group stays mostly true to form in that the music is still the focus as they layer on the jams here and on “Fortunate Son.” The title track and the Galaxie 500 cover “Tugboat,” on the other hand, seem to function much more like standard pop songs, focusing around the lyrics and clocking in around four minutes. Then we have “Mirror Kisses” which seems to split the difference. With a little help from Tune-Yards’ Merrill Garbus, Feinberg actually showcases a little subtlety. This track positively oozes with laidback groove, the exact attitude Citay has been trying to convince us of all along. Even the instrumental tracks “Secret Breakfast” and “Hunter” have kicked it up a notch. There’s more personality to the music as “Hunter” feeds off the ice cold brilliance of “Mirror Kisses” and exaggerates it with echoing drums and shimmering synth that positively swings for the fences. J. Mascis and Josh Pollock answer in time with show stopping solos that really demonstrate the effectiveness of Citay’s grandeur.

So jam band, no. That just doesn’t do justice to what Feinberg has contrived with his costal compadres. It was obvious all along, but it seems the band has finally started to move past their Dead Head tendencies and shoved off in their own direction. I choose to believe this is the reasoning for the ticky tack Citay balloon soaring away from the California coast on the album’s cover. Citay is off to bigger and better things.