Stylized “a thousand shores,” the new acoustic single from alternative band Citizens was co-written by Leslie Jordan who features on the new track. The song was a central thematic in the band’s latest album, “I Can’t Find The Edges of You,” as it explores the limitlessness of God and our relationship to that infinite well of Love.
This acoustic version highlights the versatility and distinctive sound that define Citizens, with the addition of Leslie Jordan’s soothing vocals. “a thousand shores” carries Citizens’s heartbeat to invite their listeners to embrace dancing in the mystery.
Citizens Announce Deluxe Album With First Acoustic Single
‘I Can’t Find The Edges Of You’ extended an invitation to live in the spacious acceptance that we don’t know it all, and now Citizens are exploring a deeper discovery of God, engaging their audience’s imagination, and inspiring them to reconsider perceptions and presuppositions of the Divine with an extended edition of the much-acclaimed record.
“Many times [we think] we are grazing the edges of God not realizing it’s our edges that we are bumping up against,” Zach says, “We create these walls for God to exist within. Boundaries that make sense to us. But the last time I checked, the Divine Mystery isn’t trying to make sense.” Complete with 2 new live tracks, the deluxe edition of ‘i can’t find the edges of you’ keeps telling the story of Citizens’ endless exploration of faith and creativity.
Citizens introduce a new single after their successful summer EP ‘A Thousand Shores’. The new song, called ‘When We Pray’, was written by Citizens frontman Zach Bolen alongside Canadian singer-songwriter Ben Cantelon.
‘When We Pray’ emerged from a conversation between the musicians, expressing their thoughts around the phrase “in Jesus name”. With simple honesty, Zach says that his “first instinct was to push against the idea of writing a song with that phrase mostly just because of how often it has been used as a cliche, or even worse, as some sort of magical saying.”
The new single seeks to bring something new to the conversation around the significance of praying in the name of Jesus. Citizens dare to embrace the tension, encouraging listeners that it’s often in that place that our faith becomes tangible: “At times it’s a tattered and frustrated faith and at other times it’s a garden at springtime. I can’t explain why that is, but I’ve found along the way that God has answered many of my “in Jesus name” prayers, just not always in the way that I was expecting,” Zach adds.
‘When We Pray’ speaks of selfless faith and untapped hope on a spacious sound bed of melodic bass, atmospheric synths and a subtle rhythmic guitar line; and the song is marked with Citizens’ signature alternative edge.
“Let’s consider what it would look like to spend more time together as a church praying in the name of Jesus for the good of those who don’t dress like us, talk like us, look like us, believe like us, agree with us…” Zach concludes. With ‘When We Pray’, Citizens hope to remind listeners that even in the waiting and the tension, we are still surrounded by the presence and comfort of Jesus.
Seattle-born alternative band Citizens introduce their second single off upcoming album, ‘Imagination’. This song comes from a raw situation, staying true to Citizens’ true and relatable songwriting that reached deep places in their audience’s souls.
Frontman Zach Bolen explains that the last words spoken to him by a person he really cared about before dying were painful ones, all because they weren’t seeing eye to eye. ‘Imagination’ is a response, “I wrote the most ‘I don’t want to fight anymore’ song I could think of, one that could inspire them to look past the anger and find the kid in them again,” says Zach.
There is a magnetism in the chorus of this song, pulling listeners out of nowhere like a twisting rollercoaster ride that you don’t want to miss out on. And while the inspiration comes from a heavy place in life, this song is the protest against it all, full of happiness and hope.
But Citizens also play with the perception from the very title of their new single – challenging the thought that differing beliefs and opinions are threats to Christianity. ‘Imagination’ seeks to reconcile the ever-present divide of humanity, bringing us back to a place of relationship with one another and with the source of our inspiration, Jesus.
Citizens dare their audience to dream beyond what they can see, to ask questions, dance in the mystery, and stand on a hope that will not disappoint them. “‘Imagination’ is easily one of the most exciting and instantly infectious songs that we’ve ever written,” Zach adds. With their second single, Citizens inspire us to reconsider our perception of the Divine with music that pushes the boundaries of what “Church music” usually sounds like.
Citizens have been writing songs that tell true and relatable stories since the beginning. The Seattle-born alternative band don’t shy away from writing lyrics and melodies that reach deep places in their audience’s souls.
They bring people together around vulnerability and acceptance, and their new single ‘Everything And More’, announcing a brand new album later this year, continues to invite us into the journey of faith Citizens candidly explore through songs. ‘Everything And More’ emerged as lead singer Zach Bolen sat at the piano, “when I think back on it,” he says, “this song was a springboard for discovery.” From this moment, every song came from living in a space of revelation and admission that perhaps God was bigger than one could possibly know.
Citizens introducing their upcoming project with this song is no coincidence, ‘Everything And More’ is only the tip of the iceberg of Zach’s journey of unlearning and reimagining the scope in which he, and in turn we, view God.
Sonically, the new single expands on this concept with a soundtrack full of surprises. From starting on a sound bed of compressed piano and fresh beats, ‘Everything And More’ grows into an expansive track where layers of 80s synths, dreamy strings and echoing voices of Zach’s kids yelling in the background collide into a song oozing with fun and creativity. “Everything And More” is available now.
Integrity Music’s and Running Club Records’ Citizens has reimagined their GMA Dove nominated album, The Joy of Being, as a live recorded album with today’s release, The Joy of Being Together. The new album features the original tracks as well as six additional tracks from previously released songs recorded live. Celebrating a decade together, Citizens recorded the album in a church near the University of Washington. See the video below for the “Only Jesus Christ” live performance from their colorful and creative recording.
“Ten years ago we all met in Seattle in an old church building near the University of Washington,” recalls Zach Bolen frontman for Citizens. “Now a decade later we’re back in that same place to film and record The Joy of Being Together. A lot has happened since we first met there, namely Citizens forming, but even bigger has been the gift of lifelong friendship. This project is a celebration of being loved by God and being loved by one another. The Joy of Being Together is about living-fully alive in the body of Christ; being known by one another and receiving the benefits and challenges of vulnerability in stride. The pandemic created a physical barrier that made for a lot of time apart so, in a practical sense, this record really is a lot about coming together again to do something we love.”
The original studio recording, The Joy of Being, captured the band’s thoughts about peeling back all the distractions to find our truest and most important affirmation in the joy of being loved by God. And now as more and more are getting back together after a long time separated, they want to share these songs in a new environment capturing the joy of being together.
“We were created to be together and to reflect back to one another the beauty and mystery of God as his image-bearers,” shares Bolen. “We actually learn more about God through our stories and experiences than we ever could if left to just our own thoughts. Friendship is an invaluable joy.”
The Joy of Being is nominated for “Best Rock/Contemporary Album of the Year” for the 52nd GMA Dove Awards. The awards will be held live and in-person on October 19th at Allen Arena in Nashville and will air exclusively on TBN on October 22nd.
