LISTEN: You Citizen’s “Kindly Be Cruel” Is Anthemic Indie Rock With Lush Textures

An 80s/90s music junkie. Two engineers – one on each US coast – are trying to help him find his voice. And so goes the story of You Citizen, the solo project of songwriter Bill McElnea. Having attempted rock stardom in the early 2000s NYC scene with his band The Connection and landed in the heap of forgettables, Bill decided to live for 20 years and come back to music, now having a little more to say. His debut album, In This State, is slated for release in 2026. Recorded in Hanover, Massachusetts, and Claremont, California, it is both a 12-song ode to his influences and a reflection of the tectonic shifts in his life during the album’s writing.

The long-awaited solo debut from McElnea’s latest project is closer than it ever has been. Before the artist unleashes twenty years of experience on us, the artist delivers “Kindly Be Cruel,” the latest preview from In This State. The anthemic, refreshing tune is driven by guitar riffs that sound like the plucking of a vintage neon sign, heart-pounding percussion, and a vocal performance that corrals the animated single into a focused display of McElnea’s prowess. The juxtaposing dispositions in the arrangement create an inciting conflict that emphasizes the battle occurring in the lyrics. “Kindly Be Cruel” finds our hero running back to something they know is destructive, seeking a meditative middle ground between heartbreak and numbness. The debut project from McElnea’s You Citizen promises to be a wealth of wisdom, and “Kindly Be Cruel” solidifies this sentiment through raw vulnerability.