‘As Above So Below’ is the abrasive, melancholic and cavernous album from London trio Citizen Above Suspicion. Built from driving repetition, dense feedback and an uncompromising DIY approach, it occupies a space where New Wave song structures collide with the texture and intensity of heavy psych and shoegaze. The result is loud and immersive, balancing melody and dissonance, atmosphere and confrontation.
Formed in Hackney in 2024, Citizen Above Suspicion are Baptiste Bernon (guitar), Ben France (drums) and Julia Cadau (bass). Their sound is shaped by layers of saturation, hypnotic repetition and detached vocals, with the band’s visual identity and live performances extending the same sensory experience beyond the music. Following their self-released split single ‘Fear Your Tears / Atomic Dreams’, ‘As Above So Below’ finds the trio pushing further into a world of texture and intensity, while keeping their songwriting direct and emotionally exposed.
Occultism, duality and cinema sit among the record’s central sources of inspiration, reflected in its title and its shifting balance between opposing forces. The lyrics move through loss, grief, ruined friendships and low self-esteem, drawing on past experiences without becoming literal autobiography. “It’s definitely abstract and open to interpretation,” the band explain. “It’s not about understanding it, but absorbing it.” Musically, that openness takes shape through unconventional structures and deliberate imperfections: stray feedback, unexpected notes and rough edges are left in place to preserve a feeling of reality and presence rather than polished precision.
