Citysick – “Get Better” [EP] [Album Review]

There are times when you want to sit and play with your heart strings. Call it self-immolation, call it open heart drudgery, whatever works. And while it may open up your insides to dangers of the open air, it’s done from a place of self-exploration and introspection and often we only pursue it when we need it the most. Sometimes, the darkest doorway leads to the greatest treasure. This is the message that Citysick takes to heart and which they accomplish with aplomb.

Citysick’s brand of emo-influenced pop may have more recent contemporaries that may deserve more suitable comparisons, but for the author’s worth, there is an itch of the ear that is scratched the same way bands like Say Anything and Brand New used to once upon a time. While Get Better certainly wouldn’t be mistaken for either band, the full-length also manages to nest inside the same emotional landscapes that those artists were/are able to convey. The emotive and the anthemic approaches turn over the listener’s stomach, all while the listener shares in the troubled scenarios that the protagonist is trying to surmount.

What sets the band apart from other acts is that they are conscious of the need to come back to the need to process, to strive, to win. This is despite all the horrendous odds and ugly circumstances that life provides, and yet the simple plodding along is the unexpected yet entirely necessary message that allows the listener a perfect out from their own demons: it is bad now, yes, but some day you will be able to speak on this matter. While today it may be painful, one day you will live and breathe apart from the pain. Get Better will guide you down this path if you let it.

Get Better Track Listing:

01. Moving Season
02. Leaning
03. Joyride
04. Hurricane (ft. Kelly Corfield)
05. Cut Short

Run Time: 18:11
Release Date: December 1, 2017

Stream the band’s song “Leaning” here.