Citay – Dream Get Together

Thought it was about time to get into another rewind; a look back as some of the albums that have held true over the last 15 years, even if they haven’t captured the zeitgeist in the way they’ve captured my heart. This is an album that must grace my speakers no less than once a month. The third, and final album from Ezra Feinberg (Piano Magic, Earth Room) and Tim Green’s (The Fucking Champs) Citay brings to fruition the ambitions that were sparked in their early albums. A glittering, grandiose embrace of guitar that finds the instrument strum and soar, the album revels in the double acoustic duel, singed solos, and fingerpicked elegance. The arrangements on Dream Get Together cast an eye back towards the studio settlers of the ‘70s, daring to admit a love of classic rock in a time when poptimism was firmly taking root. The result was a litany of interviews all asking the band if it was an ironic showcase, rather than applauding Feinberg and Green’s heart-on-sleeve sincerity for towering tributes to rock’s fun as it dives into excess.

Even the word excess carries a connotation that I’m uncomfortable with here. The phrase implies that its more than what’s needed, but there’s not a moment on Dream Get Together that’s not better because the band pushes to become something bigger. An album that envisions the communal charms of The Dead, if the studio tapes were produced by ELO’s Jeff Lynne. A Witthüser & Westrupp for the indie generation, with Todd Rundgren at the boards. The record stacks keys, guitars, string sections, and harmonies that scrape the sky. At the time it chafed gloriously with even the most intricate offerings in the indie rock landscape. The band proved out of synch with their times, but whether they were delightfully tethered to the past, or just ahead of the revival (as I’d argue), the band left behind one of the ‘10s most magnificent records. Dream Get Together ushers in sun whenever its on the speakers, and I’d recommend keeping it fixed there for quite some time.