Riding the wave of success from Wilco, Palace Brothers, and Son Volt, Seattle�s Citizens' Utilities (Joshua Medaris and Chad Shaver on guitars, Eric Akre on drums, Bill Herzog on bass, all from the entourage of Treepeople and Built To Spill) perhaps hit upon the most intriguing formula for new country-rock with Lost And Foundered (Mute, 1996). The upbeat, catchy ska of A Tale of Good Living is, all in all, an anomalous episode, as is the breakneck bluegrass of Open Doors. The true manifesto of the band is Nevada, simultaneously airy and solemn, powerful and contemplative, followed closely by Roadkill, which sways with the hypnotic groove and sly melodicism of Luna. Sediment and Chemicals are singer-songwriter ballads, but delivered with the fatalistic cowboy flair of the Eagles. The band�s true calling perhaps emerges in the humbler tracks, like League Night, where the intense strumming that underpins all their songs becomes a dark and obsessive clockwork pulse. Salt Talks and Daze reduce the sound to a form of astonished litany, resurrecting the most spectral Crosby, Stills & Nash.

Three-part vocal harmonies seem to dominate No More Medicine (Mute, 1997), starting with the single She Taught Me Everything There Is To Know About Poultry. The arrangements go far beyond the guitar-driven sound of their early work, both in terms of more complex guitar patterns and the contribution of producer Steve Berlin, who alternates on flute and organ: the combination yields unclassifiable songs like Call It Your Own, bursting with vitality and creativity in every transformation. Northern Lights is an even more refined synthesis of these elements: a sighing choral chant over a frenzied flamenco whirl. While romantic and dreamy ballads have become their specialty, they are contrasted by sudden peaks of tension: Heave Away, trudging with a bold cadence punctuated by psychedelic feedback; Lunger, erupting into ska-punk worthy of the Dance Hall Crashers while the singer preaches in a Lou Reed tone; and a crackling When The Heater's On. Breezy, airy ballads like Bottleneck and They Had No Peers, which would delight many aspiring stars, almost go unnoticed. The height of pathos, however, is reached in the slow, depressed Parts Per Million, a spiritual testament and perhaps a blueprint for a more mature future.
With this album, Citizens' Utilities arrive at a baroque form of country-rock, which nevertheless does not abandon the spirit of the streetwise singer-songwriter.

Sunbreak (My Own Planet, 1998), featuring new drummer Jason Reavis, maintains that awesome standard of quality, thanks to the plaintive and jangly craft of Good Morning Carol, Coffee To Beer and Ship Going Down. Gone, a complex harmonic architecture that redefines the concept of "ballad", could be their masterpiece.