Model Citizen

Led by guitarist / songwriter / producer Matt Patton (who you may know as the grinning visage holding down the low notes for Drive-By Truckers and The Dexateens) and drummer Mike Gault, Birmingham, Alabama’s Model Citizen came roaring into the 21st century with Born Tired (2001) and The Inner Fool (2003) – two collections of mod-influenced punk that had more in common with The Motor City than The Magic City. Though released in Europe, the band’s final (and best) album, 2006’s Save it For The Campfire, was largely unheard in the States, and this re-release demands to be (re)discovered. Save It For The Campfire slashes and grooves as hard as anything the band had done before, but the songs benefit from their well-earned swagger and a production that leaves plenty of room for atmosphere and psychedelic excursions. The words and the performances sound not only lived in, but haunted. From “Empty Room” to “Seen a Ghost,” these are songs with specters, demons, and mysterious light – all delivered with sinister purpose. “Before the Next Full Moon” is punk at its most paranormal – as if Sonic Youth absorbed a little more from CCR than an album title.