Citizen K’s “III” is a brilliant final thought and good summation from late Swedish classic pop-rock maestro Klas Qvist and his band Citizen K.
As one Amazon reviewer wrote, “Where has this guy been hiding?” I said the very same thing when I first heard Van Duren’s Are You Serious? Great music sometimes slips though popular cracks.
This third Citizen K album is an infinitely lovable mop-top collection of slightly weird rock from 2018, with a melodic pop pulse, and a certain double take at the similarities to the recordings of Mike McGear – or his slightly more famous brother, Paul McCartney.
Fans of bands rooted in Beatlemania like Big Star, the Aerovans and Fickle Pickle will find a lot to love in these clever grooves. Certainly, “Welcome Aboard” cruises with a Wings-like melodic instrumental breeze. It’s a nice prelude (almost overture) to the ensuing music in the album proper.
And then Citizen K really starts running. “True Companions” pops with a delicious melody (worthy of a Badfinger comparison!) with a huge chorus and a punchy anthemic guitar solo. Things zig-zag and pleasantly bounce, with a nice electronic interlude, in an “Admiral Halsey” sort of way. This is great pop music. Early Klaatu comes to mind.
“Let This Be Love,” floats on a Mersey (as is “Ferry Across”) current. Again, Klas Qvist’s vocal has the same melodic urgency as McCartney, circa his best Wings work. The music swells into an electric guitar frenzied pop euphoria, but thankfully, lands with a featherbed beauty. Nice!
There’s classic perfect pop-rock music in these grooves. “The Tool Maker’s Daughter” is guitar strident with the clever enthusiasm of a good 10cc tune. This is pop perfection with yet another blessed electric guitar and funky keyboard workout with delicious harmonies.
Then, in nice juxtaposition, the music dives into the deep sea with “Oceans Call.” This is even more music from a band on a melodic run. The bass pulses with a strong undertow. And there’s yet another explosive and nicely punctuated electric guitar solo. Of course, all the while Qvist sings with an early-’70s FM rock-radio profundity, as the band stretches with a vibe worthy of (the great!) Wishbone Ash.
Citizen K’s III continues to be shaded into contrasting shadows. “Cancelled Flight” is graced with a piano and vocal that is always “I’m amazed” in a “maybe” sort of way. Ditto for the clever, “How Are You Gonna Handle It?,” which covers so many levels of pop music euphoria, all of which touch on the magical music hall mystery – with a bit of psych drama tour.
As my friend Kilda Defnut says, “There’s always some fool on some hill who can write a pretty good tune, and can always ‘see the world spinning round.’”
A bit of history: Klas Qvist has left a legacy of exquisite music with his Citizen K albums, which include the double album, Second Thoughts (called a “gem” by The Rocking Magpie) and Meet Citizen K. He also recorded albums as the very excellent Agony Street with Gudmundur Bragason.
But back to the music: “Radio Classic (No More Songs About Airplanes, Please!),” despite having a really cool title, is also a turbulent-free ride that chimes with the Byrds’ folk-rock West Coast mystical psych vibe, which just adds to the pop perfection of the album. The acoustic sound continues with “One You Had,” which resurrects the homage to all things that are still confess “I’m amazed” in a “maybe” sort of Paul solo way.
Then, there’s a thunderstorm introduction to “Piano in the Rain.” The tune, like everything else here, erupts with a nice guitar hook, gorgeous harmonies, rock drama and a sweetly punctuated vocal. There’s a bit of a fun-house ride with the jaunty instrumental “Beasts of England,” which is prelude to “And You Danced All Night (Coda).” This is wonderful music that deserves to be heard by music lovers and every casual reviewer.
The final song, “After the Fact (Encore),” bleeds “fruit tree” passion, as Klas Qvist sings, “One final chord then it’s thank you and good night. It always feels like it ends too soon.” Sadly, Qvist passed away in 2021, but his music simply adds to an archetypal eulogy that quotes Nick Drake’s words: “Now we rise and we are everywhere.”
Indeed, there’s always a fool. There’s always a hill. And there’s always some belated listener who says, “Where has this guy been hiding?” But Klas Qvist’s music just plays its songs, sings its soul – a soul that rises with a pop-rock brilliance that will be the stuff always ready to play its platter in any sadly unfulfilled, but always curious jukebox life.
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