Reviews

Quarter to 9 – Review

“Quarter to 9” by The Citrines lands like a lost page from a bedsit diary — all neon haze, jangling nerves, empty cider cans and the kind of emotional strut that comes from pretending you’re fine when you’re absolutely not. It’s the sound of a band stepping into their own lore, and they do it with a confidence that feels both retro‑tinged and sharply modern.

There’s a whiff of cinematic tension rolled into “Quarter to 9,” the kind that makes you imagine someone sat in a coffee shop waiting just a little too long for someone yet to show. 

The Citrines build this track on a steady heartbeat, but they never allow it to settle. This song smoulders with vulnerable intent, chopping you in half with an unexpected slash of guitars just when you think the song is drifting into the morose.

At times the vocals seem deliberately detached; someone narrating their own heartbreak from a safe distance. However, this emotional facade crumbles when the guitars steal in with a post‑punk edge, the rhythm section keeps everything taut, and the production leaves just enough space for melancholy tug.

This track doesn’t beg for attention; it commands it by being effortlessly interesting, unflinchingly honest, and unshakably hopeful. 

At times The Citrines channel Blondie’s cool, razor‑sharp poise, that ability to make the downhearted sound chic rather than tragic. That stylish aloofness that says, “I’ve been through it, but I’m still wearing great boots.”

Throughout a restless romanticism is evident, slightly frayed at the edges and saying too much over too many drinks. Theres a definite sense of someone only just holding themselves together but still finding the strength to reach out a hand to another. 

Life, with a resigned shrug of the shoulders, rather than a head in the oven. 

Young, emotionally articulate but unavailable, adorned with a seemingly endless quixotic streak, The Citrines feel like a bridge between the polish of early noughties UK Indie and the emotional ragged acts like the Libertines, The Subways, and of course, Blondie; whilst imbuing the track with a an ultra-modern swaggering vulnerability all of their own.

You can find The Citrines on Instagram and Spotify.

The Citrines play The Mash House Edinburgh on May 17th.

Tickets Here.