THE CITADEL – Dawns on Mental Highways (2026, LP, Subsound Records)

RELEASE INFO:

Label: Subsound Records

Format: LP, Album, Limited Edition, Green Black Blend Vinyl, 100 copies (hand numbered) 

Format: LP, Album, Limited Edition, Black Vinyl, 200 copies

Release Date: 15 May 2026

Germany’s The Citadel is a relatively new band that approaches underground from a different angle. Rather than simply recreating the sounds of the late 1960s, the Nuremberg-based quintet embraces the exploratory spirit that made psychedelic music such a revolutionary force in the first place. Since forming in 2022, the band has steadily built a reputation for combining folk, blues, garage rock and acid-drenched psychedelia into a sound that feels deeply rooted in the past while remaining refreshingly alive in the present.

Their debut album, “The Foundation Cycle” (2024), introduced listeners to a group unafraid to wander beyond conventional boundaries, weaving together jangling folk-rock passages, swirling organ textures, poetic lyricism and bursts of heavy psychedelic energy. With their second album, “Dawns on Mental Highways”, released through the ever-adventurous Subsound Records, The Citadel take that vision several steps further.

From its very title, “Dawns on Mental Highways” suggests movement, transformation and discovery. Fragile and expressive vocals can suddenly erupt into passionate declarations; delicate acoustic passages effortlessly coexist with fuzz-laden electric explosions; vintage acid-organ flourishes intertwine with intricate bass lines and rhythmic turns that constantly keep the listener guessing.

“Dawns on Mental Highways” contains 8 tracks, 4 on each side of the LP album. It takes off with “Lucky Streak”, a beautiful opening trip straight into the Summer of Love, blending folk, blues and psychedelia beneath Eva’s ethereal vocals and wonderfully expressive guitar work. “Buzzard” is acoustic, bluesy and hypnotic, a gentle psychedelic folk piece that showcases the band’s ability to create magic through simplicity. “Wednesday Moan” is a deeply melancholic psychedelic ballad, elevated by its haunting flute passages and subtle progressive undertones. One of the album’s most emotionally resonant moments while “Land of Judgement” is a heavier and more energetic excursion where organ, guitar and boogie-infused rhythms combine into an infectious slice of psychedelic blues-rock. Steeped in a glorious 1968 West Coast atmosphere, “Limited Company Hymn” opens side ‘B’, this is a superb blues-psych number that finds the band firing on all cylinders, with Eva delivering one of her strongest vocal performances. “Mountain Still Ahead” is a delicate and nostalgic folk-psych ballad whose dreamy organ textures add an extra layer of psychedelic beauty. “19” begins with windswept ambience before gradually unfolding into a richly orchestrated late ’60s psychedelic journey, carried effortlessly by Eva’s distinctive voice. Eventually, the album comes to an end with “Beggin Pleasure” (8:38), the album’s undeniable centerpiece. Starting as a Laurel Canyon-inspired psychedelic folk dream before exploding into a full-blown electric odyssey, complete with soaring keyboards, tripping guitars and a thrilling sense of endless forward motion…

In conclusion, throughout “Dawns on Mental Highways”, The Citadel successfully channel the spirit of late ’60s West Coast psychedelia, folk-rock and blues without ever sounding like mere revivalists. Richly atmospheric, beautifully performed and deeply authentic, the album feels like a long-lost relic from the golden age of 60s that somehow found its way into 2026. For those willing to take the trip, the journey proves both rewarding and unexpectedly expansive! Dig! TimeLord Michalis

Tracklist

Links

Listen / Get it via THE CITADEL Bandcamp

Check THE CITADEL Official Web

Visit THE CITADEL Facebook