1919 – Citizens Of Nowhere

Normally I’m not one for first impressions but the cover of 1919’s new full length, Citizens Of Nowhere, gives you a good idea of where they are coming from, at least politically if not musically. The album title and mock blue passport cover, with it’s bastardised motto, no god no king (pas de dieu pas de roi) instead of god and my right (dieu et mon droit), tells you that 1919 are among those who know that the UK’s decision to commit to Brexit was at best a catastrophic mistake, and at worst an epic act of self harm.

But what of the soundtrack? The origins of 1919 go way back to the roots of post punk and the UK’s burgeoning goth scene in the decade that taste forgot, the eighties. Those of a certain age may remember the original incarnation of the band, they recorded two sessions for the late great John Peel and released a handful of singles and their debut album, Machine, before going on a three decade long hiatus. But it seems that you can’t keep a good band down, and 1919 returned with a vengeance, releasing two critically acclaimed albums, 2017’s Bloodline and 2019’s Futurecide, and now they are on the eve of their fourth full length, Citizens Of Nowhere, being released.

If you’ve read the first two paragraphs you won’t be surprised that there are parallels to the alternative, post punk and gothic scenes that were the dark side of the eighties, and I mean that in the best possible way, that existed alongside the day-glo fashions and mass produced pop of that era. Fans of the original line up of The Sisters Of Mercy will briefly experience a sense of deja vu with the opening track, Borders, from here Citizens Of Nowhere treads an erratic path across vintage counter culture that peaks with my personal highlight from the album, Demigod.

If I was to start listing comparisons and influences we’d be here all day, instead I’ll say that 1919 are staying true to their roots with an album that sounds like they’ve blended the playlist from one of the numerous small matt black painted sweaty night clubs that existed in every city in the UK in the 80’s. The album veers between melodic and smooth, dark and stormy and angular and confrontational, whilst 1919 are rooted deep in the era that spawned them, Citizens Of Nowhere is no anachronism. The band’s latest full length is part of the new wave of post punk, a scene that is currently undergoing a resurgence, this is not a coincidence. 1919’s latest release reflects the state of society, much like the soundtrack to the winter of discontent did over forty years ago. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Citizens Of Nowhere will be released on the 25th June and can be pre-ordered on “Brexit blue” vinyl, CD, cassette and digital formats via Music Glue