“Mire” slow and moody guitar and Laura Dolan’s soft yet mournful vocals, both of which burst into life toward the end, open Electric Citizen new record EC4 (Heavy Psych Sounds). EC4 is the Cincinnati quintet’s fourth album, and it is fuzzy 70s Rock with psychedelic touches and Uriah Heep and Deep Purple influences throughout.

“Mire” is a good introduction to their fourth record, which ebbs and flows between four-to-the-floor rock, atmospheric melancholy, and doom. “Smokey,” with its propulsive guitars and Owen Lee’s bouncy keys, is a great example of the former; with Laura’s mystical, almost hard to decipher, vocals floating on top. As is the rich wall of organs, riffs and drums “Static,” a light and airy mid-section a brief respite from its otherwise locomotive energy. The doom is on show in “Lizard Brain,” a textured number with a soft intro, which gives way to an ominous, Black Sabbath-style stomp. 

“Travelers Moon” ticks the atmospheric box. Soft keys and a gentle riff similar to modern-day Iron Maiden greet us, this grows in power to a galloping, hard rock finish. This record is seven years in the making, and it strikes a rich yet delicate balance between the light and quiet and the hard and heavy. This finely struck balance loses its way a bit toward the end of the second half, as the sombre aura stays, but the energy drops. The final two tracks – the woozy “Other Planets” and the meandering “Flower of Salt” – are ponderous and drawn-out affairs and end an otherwise good album on a bum note. 

Although it tails off towards the end, on the whole, EC4 is earthy, seventies-inspired hard rock with a sombre mood that fans of Heep, Purple, and the more recent Blood Ceremony will appreciate. 

Buy the album here:
https://electriccitizenband.bandcamp.com/album/ec4

7 / 10
THOMAS THROWER
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