I have a vivid boyhood memory of my best friend’s elder brother trying to brainwash us one afternoon with Rick Wakeman, Al Stewart, and others of that ilk. Part of the ‘fun’ involved rolling up a piece of supplied silvery foil and placing this at a strategic position on the LP album art – such that a picture was revealed in the kaleidescope-like reflection of the coloured splodge that was normally visible. And there was something about a concept album featuring a tower full of monkeys. I wish I was making this up. We were just getting into music, but there was a gaping chasm in the three or four years that separated us. Our interests lay with The Specials, The Jam, The Police, and, dare I say, Sham 69 (the Sex Pistols got little attention – the only kid who actually dressed like a punk got regularly beaten up – not for being a punk; for being an annoying twat).

Listening to this album, I feel like I’m back listening to that best friend’s elder brother’s collection. To this day I can still barely listen to Pink Floyd or Led Zeppelin. This was hard going for me – I have a mental mountain to overcome. Citay is a project by Ezra Feinberg (from Piano Magic) in collaboration with Tim Green and Tim Soete (from The Fucking Champs). They have a history of indie/punk rock before this regression/progression (delete as appropriate). Being based in San Francisco might explain something – here’s an anonymous gig review from a fan: “I never heard of them before walking in. I was mesmerized by the super stony presence and sound of some of the stoniest guitar playing I’ve heard in a while. I think there were like 18 people in the band, a bunch of back up singers, a few beards…maybe a flute??? I was stoned. It ruled.”

If you can enjoy elongated (mostly instrumental) tracks with intricate rustic Led Zep acoustic segments leading into soaring Thin Lizzy style harmonised dual guitar patterns without picturing Spinal Tap’s dwarves promenading around a mini stone circle, then this could be right up your street. I kept having flashbacks of something like Steve Hillage’s version of “The Hurdy Gurdy Man”, or perhaps some young Mike Oldfield. It’s warm and smooth, a bit jazzy, it might be soothing in the background (if I had nothing else to play); the label ‘proggy folk-metal’ has been bandied around. It’s well executed, but I can’t drop the prejudices of a lifetime. Let’s do the time warp? Not for me. Your mileage may vary.
35%

Links
Citay [official site] [myspace] [buy it]