About us

A Citizen Above Suspicion (L-R): Ross Shepherd, Stephen Simmons, Grant Tulley, Paul Shepherd

A Citizen Above Suspicion treads a somewhat darker path than the other acts emerging from the seaside town of Brighton, England, fusing atmospheric, tension-filled, distorted rock backing tracks with lyrical narratives on the bleaker side of life. This intriguing mixture is evident in its brand new song Words for the Living - a free downloadable mp3 taster of the musical and themes that will form the backbone of the band's imminent second album.

2001: Formation

Reflecting the dark, cinematic feeling of the music, the band takes its name from the Morricone-scored Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion, and was formed in late 2001 by brothers Paul (guitar) and Ross (vocals) Shepherd, who were driven to write their own material by a love of movie soundtracks, David Bowie, Pink Floyd, Faith No More, Manic Street Preachers, Radiohead, Queens of the Stone Age and Nine Inch Nails. The band's current line-up is completed by Stephen Simmons (keyboards) and Grant Tulley (drums).

2002-2003: First recordings

"We have been engineering, recording and mixing our songs pretty much since day one," says Paul. "We thought it would be easier to learn how to produce our own recordings than it would looking for like-minded producers, and I always admired the DIY attitude of bands like Mansun and Nine Inch Nails." Based on ideas knocked up in the rehearsal room and on computer, the band set about self-recording and releasing two EPs worth of original material: Short Stories and The High Order.

These releases were issued free of charge in CD format via the band's website, and several hundred were distributed to listeners all over the world.

2004-2008: Evacuate

The majority of 2004 was spent writing and recording the songs that would form ACAS's debut album, Evacuate. "The aim with Evacuate was to try to create an album - in the old sense of the word - rather than just a collection of songs," explains Ross. "We had already released two short EPs of the songs that happened to emerge as we were learning our craft. But Evacuate was specifically written as a flowing piece, designed to tell a story from start to end." While the story was conveyed mainly through the album's lyrical content, the accompanying music was also designed as a journey. Paul: "We felt the music was a step-up from the earlier EPs. We tried to make it more melodic while retaining the dense layering and atmospherics. While the album story forms a cycle of sorts, so too does the music - we designed it as a loop, so the first sound the listener hears on the opening track is the same as the one that closes the final track No Man's Land."

As with earlier releases, the album was recorded and mixed entirely by the band itself, before being issued in CD and online formats in July 2005.

A highlight from the live shows in support of Evacuate was a highly coveted slot supporting ex-Jesus Lizard vocalist David Yow's new outfit Qui, in November 2007.

Evacuate is currently available for listeners worldwide from iTunes and CD Baby, with a selection of songs available for download in mp3 format from the audio section.

The present: Moving forward

"The follow-up to Evacuate currently under construction," says Ross. "While Evacuate felt like the first time we were able to capture the kind of material we'd always planned, we now want to go one step further".

The progress of the writing and recording process has been documented in the band's blogs on this site. For the first time, ACAS has also posted early live versions of many of the songs likely to be featured in the video section, and audio recordings direct from the rehearsal room will be added to the ‘Bonus' section for registered users of the site.

The first completed song, Words for the Living, was made available with an accompanying promo video (again created, DIY-style, by the band members themselves) in April 2009. "The next album is fully written, and while it will follow on naturally from Evacuate, it will mark a clear progression, in terms of being more a collaborative effort," says Ross. "All the songs have been written together in the rehearsal room. That means what we have so far sounds more organic and natural than anything we've done before. We're also really pleased to be making more use of social networking so our listeners can track the progress of the CD. We can't wait to finish it!"

A Citizen Above Suspicion, April 2009