Richard BodinComing from Italy, Citrus Citrus is quietly making its mark on the country’s growing psychedelic scene. After a first self-produced album, Albedo Massima (2023), the quintet returns with its second full-length, In The Belly of the Eternal Draw—one of the happiest surprise discoveries of 2025. Their sound is colourful, hypnotic, and proudly strange, yet always grounded in a real sense of groove.
A Collective Listening Circle
Citrus Citrus formed in Padova in 2020 when guitarists Lorenzo Badin and Luca Zantomio began jamming together. Drummer Marco Buffetti and bassist Enrico Maragno soon joined, shaping the early quartet into an instrumental project driven by improvised sessions and psychedelic explorations. The band reached its final form when singer and producer Thomas Powell stepped in, widening both its palette and ambitions.
The five musicians cite an impressively broad set of influences—from King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard to 1970s Japanese jazz-rock, Krautrock, punk energy, and even strains of folk. More than anything, they describe themselves as a “collective listening circle,” a creative space where each member brings in sounds from a different world and the others respond. “That’s how this record was built,” they say. “By listening together.” True to this ethos, the album’s tracks were shaped through extended jam sessions, slowly evolving into fully formed compositions.
Inside the Belly
In The Belly of the Eternal Draw ingests all these influences and lets them ferment into something unmistakably Citrus Citrus. Each track opens a distinct little world; yet the record maintains a cohesive identity, flowing like one long inhale and exhale. Psychedelia, groove, drone, playful absurdity, and bursts of genuine heaviness all coexist in its swirling core.
“Eternal Draw“
The title track is a slow-burning descent. A hypnotic bassline anchors the piece while drilling guitar riffs coil around it. Powell’s vocal delivery occasionally recalls early King Crimson—half-chant, half-incantation. The mood is oppressive in the best possible way, gradually tightening until it releases in a gripping, climactic finale.
“Sushi Sushi“
Arguably the album’s standout and certainly its most gleefully unhinged moment. A driving rhythm section and groovy bassline set the foundations, while synths and guitars build layer upon layer, weaving riffs and melodies into a colourful tangle. It all leads to one of the album’s most memorable lyrical peaks: “Sushi Sushi / Yo-Gi-Oh / Get inside my belly / You taste so good!” The track eventually erupts into a firework of guitars and—metaphorically—sushis. A total banger.
“Let Me Churn“
Opening with a few reverbed guitar notes, the track slowly draws in a droning, groovy bassline. As the first chorus arrives, sitar-like textures swirl into the mix, echoing the Indian influence established in the preceding instrumental, “Irace del Capo.” There’s an ominous undertone here: lyrics hint at someone wasting their life away, drifting without noticing. The chorus, however, hits with real force—one of the album’s catchiest and weightiest moments.
“Asterione“
A perfect closing chapter. This psych-rock gem leans again into Indian-tinged sonorities, drifting between dreamy atmospheres and subtle melodic motifs. It feels like the record gently folding back into itself, the final exhale after a colourful trip.
Final Thoughts
With In The Belly of the Eternal Draw, Citrus Citrus confirms itself as one of the most exciting emerging acts in Italian psychedelia. The album is eclectic yet coherent, playful yet meticulously crafted, rooted in jam-driven spontaneity yet full of intentional detail. It’s a record that rewards repeat listens—and suggests that Citrus Citrus is only beginning to show how far their collective listening circle can stretch.
