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Lawful Citizen

Fearlessly combining jazz, metal, electronic, and Americana, Lawful Citizen is an explosive force on the Canadian jazz scene. Formed in 2015 after meeting at McGill University, the band name reflects the discord felt by the common man, between remaining complacent and refusing to abide. The pendulum of their music swings from subtle beauty to relentless rage, driven by the musicality and sensitivity of the four musicians

Lawful Citizen live performances have been described as a transcendent and mesmerizing experience. The band first tested their sound along with Gas Station Mentality at Bistro de Paris. Next, they billed with Bad Luck, Seattle’s acclaimed experimental duo, at La Passe in Montreal. As their reputation grew, they performed in the Nick Fraser Presents series at the Tranzac Club in Toronto. Lawful Citizen also billed with Emma Frank, Daniel Arthur Trio, and Gas Station Mentality at Casa del Popolo in Montreal on separate occasions. They played multiple times and Resonance Café in Montreal, and the Emmet Ray in Toronto. They have become known for their unique grit while melting genres and destroying boundaries.

In August 2017, Lawful Citizen released their self-titled debut EP, which was selected by DOMINIONATED for their ‘Favourite Fifty of 2017.’ The band embarked on a release tour, highlighted by opening for Chet Doxas’s Juno-nominated ‘Rich in Symbols’ album release show at ArtGang Montreal. The tour also included shows at Resonance Café and Bar Ste-Angèle in Quebec City. Selected by an industry jury, Lawful Citizen performed two shows in the Grand Prix at the Festi Jazz International de Rimouski. They also played two shows at the Toronto Undergraduate Jazz Festival.

Lawful Citizen will be releasing Internal Combustion, their first full-length record, on Friday, November 9, 2018. The previous evening’s CD release event will open with John Hollenbeck + Special Guests at Casa del Popolo in Montreal. After developing the music over a course of a year, the tracks were recorded, mixed, and mastered in Montreal. The resulting journey weaves together the somber and the rough. The band’s signature sound is on full display with searing sax, fierce guitar, guttural bass, and propulsive drums. Their raucous blend of musical brutality, heavy emotion, and forward momentum is perfect for this moment in time.

Awards

Finalist at grand prix at Fest Jazz International de Rimouski #38 on dominionated.ca "Favourite Fifty of 2017"


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Album Review

Lawful Citizen: Internal Combustion

Read "Internal Combustion" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan


The Montreal-based quartet Lawful Citizen has come up with an unusual subject on which to pin its theme. Its debut disc's title, Internal Combustion, contains the four part “Internal Combustion Suite" that addresses, in part, the power that has driven our cars (and motorcycles, and lawnmowers...) for the better part of the last century. The suite opens with this saxophone and a guitar/bass/drums quartet's dreamy and foreboding groove--tranquil and and eerie at the same time, with a metallic, egalitarian sound ...

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"Montreal’s Lawful Citizen are masters of this school of improv, blending jazz influences with hints of drone and doom metal, which makes more sense than you’d think." -Josh Weinberg, www.dominionated.ca

"The band does a marvellous job putting their own stamp on jazz by adding hints of a dark, metallic edge." -Josh Weinberg, www.dominionated.ca

"Wonderfully chaotic." -Chris Maskell, CBC Music

"On top of the tune being stuck in our heads, we’re also hitting replay to keep discovering fresh nuances each time through." -Chris Maskell, CBC Music

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Internal Combustion

Self Produced
2018

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Lawful Citizen

Creative Independent Artists
2017

buy

Shatter

From: Internal Combustion
By Lawful Citizen

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