What's the Verdict?

Every Citrus performance has been met with enthusiastic comments from the audience. We have also received several notes and reviews from people who have heard our CD or seen us live:

I really resonate with raw resonant acoustic sounds, so it is a special privilege to be present when God's gifted bards give their energy and life to an audience. I especially appreciated the acoustic bass, and would have been well-entertained with the cigar-box guitar. The subtle percussion has a dominance than boosts the flavour without leaving sticky juice all over your hands and clothes (or your ears ringing).
Without Christ, you folks would be a great act, with a future. In Christ, I sensed eternity in my heart as I indulged the presence of Christ imbued in your spirits. If I have read too much into your lives, then forgive me for projecting a hope I ever look forward to. Yet, I know in my soul that you are true to Christ. I have often wished for a year-round roster of travelling bards, with your Christian spirit, to share their lives with us every Sunday evening.
Paul Case - Songwriter and Congregation Member at Parkside Church

I've been grooving to the Citrus CD for the past week. Great stuff. Great intertwining acoustic guitar and bass lines. And your poetry is stellar. Keep going that route. It's compelling and a breath of fresh air in the stale smog of CCM.
Shane Speal - 'King of Cigar Box Guitar', USA

Zeebozine proudly recommends Citrus to its readers... You'll like them if you like Natalie Merchant, The Cranberries or Evanescence.
Mark Webber - Zeebozine, USA

I love your lyrics, they just have the sound of someone who is talking to God or talking to someone else. They are really frank and honest and do so much to honour God's attributes just by talking about them. I thank God for your faithfulness in the way you write your music.
Bob Hu - Sydney Songwriter

I think thanks really have to go to you guys for your dedication to high quality music and lyrics. We have had a very good response to the night overall, and you guys have been mentioned several times as a real standout. With such an excellent attitude and so much talent, I can't wait to see how the Lord uses Citrus in the future.
Mike Barry - Gracenotworks.com Unplugged

Citrus' musicianship was excellent and their style very melodic... It had flow, and the high range of their vocalist mixed nicely with the midrange of the guitar and the bass of the bass, providing a beautiful overall sound, punctuated nicely by the Egyptian Tabla. ...[They would be] perfect for church events, Black Stump One World Café, Youth Alive and other such events. Overall, a good set and the feedback was excellent. Citrus can and will go far!
Reuben Rose - The Attic

Thanks so much for playing at Cranbrook for us yesterday. The music was great. I really like the words and having them on overhead was great. Heaps of the students made positive comments. Hope we can use your talents again at some stage.
Peter Crawford - Director of Schools Ministry, Crusaders

All three are talented musicians, who have had a variety of experiences performing in front of large groups. This talent combined with a sincere faith has produced Citrus, a three-piece folk/rock band, that has the ability to speak into the lives of today's youth. It is with great pleasure that I commend Citrus to Churches and youth ministries alike.
Peter Bradley - Teacher and ISCF Coordinator, Cherrybrook High School

Fantastic! You sounded so good last night. Please continue making music. I look forward to your next performance. I realise it only comes with a lot of hard work but you are all gifted and to channel that into song as a means of witness is beautiful - To minister through music is powerful. Thankyou!
Teena Yates - St Matthew's Anglican Church West Pymble

Independent Review - Launch of Adam Ate the Mango
Blacktown Anglican Church
Saturday 5 April 2003

Citrus have come a long way in the year since I first saw them. This bible-conscious trio, ever keen to spread the Christian word through their music, have polished their material and fine tuned their singing and playing, culminating in an impressive CD release in 'Adam Ate the Mango' (the name is a play on one of the first scenes in the Christian bible). In not one but three CD launch concerts around Sydney they showed that their live act is also very impressive, in spite of some technical difficulties.

They describe their sound as "acoustic rock with a fresh folky edge". Citrus' signature sound is the vocal harmony of sisters Susie Bower and Alison Head. While their harmonious sound does not always dominate the band's music, their songs are definitely honed to make the most of their well-matched voices. The band are versatile too: Alison plays acoustic guitar while also providing lead vocals, Susie plays percussion while singing backing lines, and bass player Tim Bower (who is married to Susie) rounds out the sound and also provides occasional backing vocals. This makes for a big sound, especially from a three-piece act, also allowing for a fair degree of musical variety.

Citrus have been playing together for a little over two years. Compared to a concert I heard last year, their stage presence and technical precision have improved, but they still have a vocal-led folky strength in concert. But Citrus used other instruments on their recording to broaden the variety and get the most from each song; and inviting some of these additional players to the launches has more greatly differentiated each of the songs from one another. At the Blacktown launch for example, Derek Sadubin joined in on timbale for several tunes, and the recording engineer for the project, Greg Dixon, played electric guitar, largely adding atmospheric sounds rather than rhythmic parts.

On stage, the trio appear to have a lot of fun, trading banter and smiling all the time. The need to fix some technical difficulties, such as loud noises occurring in the girl's in-ear monitors (the band's first and probably last use of these devices) meant that long gaps came between some of the songs. But the friendly atmosphere prevented this from ruining the show, laughs were had, and the show went happily on.

Lyrically, all of Citrus' music is concerned with living a Christian life. They take their music very seriously as a Christian ministry, wanting others to share the peace they experience. From what I've seen the message they preach is also one that they are willing to practice, which makes their message all the more attractive. When you see their show, have a chat to them afterwards and you'll know what I mean.

David M Grant
Sydney (Gospel & Jazz) Bass Player