What Model Citizens began (originally under the moniker Spiro Agnew) towards the end of 2009 by songwriter Alex Musto as a means of exploring noise and feedback-heavy music grounded by a foundation in synth-rock. The band’s music is perhaps best described as a fusion of the noisy fuzz-guitar of The Jesus and Mary Chain and the synth-pop of New Order. With the release of a second album -- You've Been Set Up -- and upon relocating to New York in 2011, What Model Citizens changed its name from Spiro Agnew, so as not to be confused with a New Jersey band of the same name.
2010 saw the release of What Model Citizens debut, semi self-titled, album OH What Model Citizens We Be, a grinding juxtaposition of tender synthesizer tones and heavily distorted guitar that begs ears to dissect the layers of sound while daring hips not to shake to the beat.Gritty and driving, OH What Model Citizens We Be introduced Musto's reverb-laden guitar heavy electronic sound with a driving tenacity.
The follow up to What Model Citizen's 2010 release OH What Model Citizens We Be, You've Been Set Up expands on the musical concepts laid out in debut, with heavier emphasis on the synthesizer as the main compelling force. While OH What Model Citizens We Be took its thematic inspirations from the political, You've Been Set Up seems geared more towards a more nebulous and ill-defined leitmotif of culture. Comprised of competing layers of synth sounds punctuated with gritty noisy guitar, You've Been Set Up is a full realization of What Model Citizens' unique noise-influenced synth-rock.