Musical reunions typically follow a predictable arc: nostalgia-driven tours, tepid new material struggling to recapture past glories, and gradual descent into self-parody. Oxford trio Unbelievable Truth defies this template entirely with “Citizens Band,” their first release in a quarter-century. The four-track EP arrives neither as calculated comeback nor desperate grasp at relevance, but rather as the natural continuation of a conversation interrupted in 2000.
What’s immediately striking about these seventeen minutes is how the band has preserved their essential character while subtly evolving. The hypnotic minimalism that defined late-90s favorites like “Stone” and “Settle Down” remains intact, but there’s newfound depth in both arrangement and perspective. Andy Yorke, Jason Moulster, and Nigel Powell have allowed their accumulated decades of life experience to inform rather than override their musical chemistry.
Opening title track “Citizens Band” establishes this updated approach immediately. Piano-driven and methodically paced, the song builds with the patience of musicians unconcerned with grabbing attention in an era of diminishing attention spans. Yorke’s vocals—still possessed of that distinctive gentle authority—deliver a meditation on community and solidarity that feels timely without explicit commentary on current events. The arrangement breathes in a way that suggests confidence rather than restraint.
“Non-Combatant” offers the EP’s most dramatic moment, opening with an unaccompanied, hymn-like vocal passage before expanding into something approaching orchestral dimensions. The addition of strings feels organic rather than grandiose, complementing rather than overwhelming the band’s characteristic understatement. Powell’s drumming here deserves particular mention—precise yet fluid, driving the composition forward while allowing space for nuance.
The EP’s most immediately accessible track arrives with “Chemtrails,” which pairs the band’s most overtly pop melody with distinctly non-pop subject matter. Yorke has described this as a rare political statement, expressing concern about how conspiracy theories function in contemporary discourse. What prevents the track from collapsing under its weighty theme is the lightness of touch in its execution—the arrangement sparkles with clean guitar lines and propulsive rhythm section work, creating productive tension with the subject matter.
Closing track “Madison” returns to more personal territory, exploring regret and heartache with the hard-won wisdom of middle age. Where younger bands might amplify such emotions for dramatic effect, Unbelievable Truth trusts in the power of restraint. Yorke’s vocal performance conveys vulnerability without melodrama, while Moulster’s bass work provides both harmonic foundation and emotional anchor.
Producer details aren’t specified in release materials, but the sonic approach throughout “Citizens Band” warrants appreciation. The EP sounds unmistakably like Unbelievable Truth while avoiding the pitfall of attempting to recreate the production aesthetics of the late 90s. There’s warmth and clarity that serves the material perfectly, maintaining the band’s characteristic intimacy while expanding their sonic palette.
What makes this reunion particularly satisfying is how it recontextualizes the band’s original run. Unbelievable Truth emerged during the post-Britpop era but always existed somewhat adjacent to prevailing trends, more aligned with American indie and slowcore movements than with their contemporaries on the UK charts. This outsider perspective has aged remarkably well, making their return feel less like nostalgia and more like the continuation of an approach that was never particularly trend-dependent.
As Yorke, Moulster, and Powell prepare for their May headline tour, “Citizens Band” suggests that audiences can expect something more substantive than a greatest-hits retrospective. These four tracks demonstrate a band reconnecting with what Powell calls “something about when the three of us make music at the same time—it’s greater than the sum of its parts in ways that I can’t describe.”
For long-term fans who discovered the band through their Virgin Records breakthrough or Shifty Disco follow-up, this EP will feel like reuniting with old friends who have grown in interesting ways. For newcomers, it offers an introduction to a band whose thoughtful, measured approach to songcraft feels increasingly valuable in a musical landscape often defined by extremes.
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