Citizens! release Here We Are produced by Franz Ferdinands' Alex Kapranos + first U.S. tour, CMJ

UK's Citizens! Release Here We Are (prod. by Franz Ferdinands' Alex Kapranos) on 10/9/2012 via Kitsuné / Cooperative Music + First USA Tour and CMJ

London's five-piece Citizens! recorded their 11-track-debut in Scotland last year with Alex Kapranos of Franz Ferdinand. The result is Here We Are.

After touring Europe and playing at the major festivals, the band is eager to release their debut in the States on October 9, 2012 via Kitsuné / Cooperative Music and their first ever American tour will start October 11th in Los Angeles.

Citizens! first single is "True Romance". See their elegant take on style in the video below, which is composed with footage from the 1987 Telugu movie 'Pasivadi Pranam' starring the legendary Chiranjeevi. Look out for an official video for the single shortly.

Citizens! True Romance video:

The band is going on their first-ever American tour as part of the OOHLALA! Tour with Tomorrow's World (Jean-Benoit Dunckel from Air and Lou Hayter), Housse De Racket and Lescop will play exclusives shows in Los Angeles (10/11), San Francisco (10/12), Montreal (10/13) and New York (10/16).

For Citizens! aesthetics in music is all-important; 'pop is not a dirty word' they proclaim. So, after signing to French label Kitsuné, the UK band set about following their 'manifesto' and began recording their debut album in the wilds of Scotland, a process that proved to be a little unorthodox.

"We had a strict set of rules that we forced ourselves to abide by. One was we weren't allowed to do any studio trickery, so there's no autotune or correcting mistakes or anything on the record. And then there was the idea that no element of any given song was allowed to sound as if it came from the same place. So the main idea behind "True Romance" was, 'Kanye West producing an Arcade Fire song'. Or maybe it's the other way round... But it's the thing of doing what people least expect, but making it sound addictive and exciting."

Citizens! are:
Tom Burke (vocals)
Thom Rhoades (guitar)
Martyn Richmond (bass)
Lawrence Diamond (keyboards / guitar)
Mike Evans (drums)

Citizens! - "Caroline" video:

Citizens! 2012 U.S. tour dates:

(Dates and information subject to change.)

10/11 - Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey (Kitsuné Maison Night /OOHLALA!) tix
10/12 - San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop (OOHLALA!) tix
10/16 - Montreal, CAN @ Evenko (OOHLALA!) tix
10/17 - New York, NY @ Highline Ballroom (OOHLALA!) tix
10/18 - New York, NY @ CMJ (details tbd)
10/19 - New York, NY @ CMJ (details tbd)
10/20 - New York, NY @ CMJ (details tbd)

Citizens! - Here We Are tracklist:
01. True Romance
02. Reptile
03. Caroline
04. Love You More
05. Let's Go All The Way
06. (I’m In Love With Your) Girlfriend
07. Nobody's Fool
08. Monster
09. She Said
10. I Wouldn't Want To
11. Know Yourself

Photo credit: Frederike Helwig

For the latest tour dates and information, please go to:

Citizens! Official Website