SINKING CITIZENSHIP - Broadcasting Germs

Is there still room for rock after post-rock? It's one of the questions dominating the debate in 2005, certainly not a great year for the genre. The solutions that have emerged so far have been few: giving post-rock some "emotion" (Mogwai), having it flirt with '90s electronica (which 65daysofstatic are attempting), or ignoring the "post" altogether and trying to open new paths by finding some sense in nu-metal (Tool). None of these strands seems to be bearing much fruit (I'm talking about any followers and developers of these ideas, conspicuously absent to this day, not the originators themselves): making rock today doesn't seem to be an easy task.

Sinking Citizenship are an Australian trio who, against all odds, want to give it a shot. On their debut, "Broadcasting Germs" (actually drawn from 2002 sessions and already released for the select few via UXB in 2004), they take as their reference point precisely the strongest and most boundary-pushing side of the nu-metal scene (Tool and System Of A Down: the former for structure, the latter for melodic choices and "spoken" vocals), introducing a few changes of their own (a fuller sound, a bass tone and tension straight out of post-punk). The result, clearly audible on the opening track, "Safe in the System", is interesting, though it still falls short on personality (the sonic solutions are too schematic and hardly varied).

"Neutralise" incorporates a few more elements: the guitar work is more forceful and biting, leaning on sheer power, and at points the instruments venture into Sonic Youth territory. It's the best track on the record. In truth, every song carries some minimal variation: "Last Minute Intervention" rides a solid bassline and lets itself be declaimed with real epic scope. But the album's positives are outweighed by its negatives. The latter boil down to the fact that the band explores its starting idea from every angle, ending up neglecting its evolution, and stretches the songs out too long (the length is justified by the structure, which is solid, but not by the content), and to the fact that, when you tally it up, there are few genuinely successful tracks.

So it happens that a yawn or two slips out, for instance when Sinking Citizenship arpeggiate instead of hammering out the hollowed-out melody of "Ways to Meet Ends", soft and tinged with psychedelia; or when the howling drive of "At Sixes and Sevens" only tickles the Big Black sound it draws on; or when attention drifts as the malevolent whisper of "The Blank Song" rolls by. Nor is the pleasantly relaxed close of "Disclosure" enough to redeem the rest.

"Broadcasting Germs" ends up being a mediocre record, or little more. Despite all this, though, Sinking Citizenship have shown qualities that could be honed and lead to something good, or very good, as early as their next attempt. Best to keep an eye on them.

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30/04/2026