Circa Survive-Blue Sky Noise-2010-FNT

- Release Info -------------------------------------------------------------- -



Artist: Circa Survive

Album: Blue Sky Noise

Label: Atlantic Records

Playtime: 49:38 min

Genre: Rock

URL: http://www.circasurvive.com

Rip date: 2010-04-15

Street date: 2010-04-20

Size: 76.89 MB

Type: Normal

Quality: 207 kbps / 4410kHz / Joint Stereo



- Release Notes ------------------------------------------------------------- -



"How did you get so ungrateful, you treat me like I'm a disease... too much

all at once, that's how you got so ungrateful."



The problem with Circa Survive has never been with their music. They play

their instruments competently and whether you like his tone or not, Anthony

Green can sing. The problem is their lack of longevity. Debut album Juturna

was good, but it only lasted for a few listens. An icon within the scene's

attempt to make progressive rock music was interesting, endearing even, but

ultimately the album was swept into the undertow of dozens of other albums by

bands who were better at making that sort of music from the start (Minus The

Bear, The Mars Volta, et al). Juturna was weird, but not necessarily in a

good way; it simply made the album sort of impenetrable but with none of the

charm that makes music like that worth exploring. It was catchy, but apart

from "Act Appalled," the melodies were either too linear or too plain to

warrant the listener singing along. On Letting Go, the band's sophomore

effort, was super catchy, but with all of the weirdness gone. Instead of

expanding upon the aspect of their music that had the potential to make them

unique, they abandoned it completely in favor of stronger melodies and

improved singing from Green. But though the oddities were gone, the songs

were there. The album showed a band who was marvelously with it, poised on

the edge of...something. It wasn't clear what cliff they were on, what

awaited them at the bottom of the plunge. More popularity? A return to

experimentation? The album was great, but the longevity still wasn't there

because it was missing something, something we all hoped they would find on

their next album.



And find it they did.



The "it" in question isn't something that can really be defined, and honestly

it isn't even the point. The point is that Circa Survive have done everything

right on Blue Sky Noise. The sort of deft passion that they display here

isn't something that comes along very often for a band, yet here they are

acting as if it's the most natural thing in the world. It makes you wonder

why they weren't this good from the start, but the learning process they went

through ends up making Blue Sky Noise all the more satisfying. With On

Letting Go, for every jaw-dropping track like "Your Friends Are Gone," there

was a disappointingly bland song like "In The Morning And Amazing." On

Juturna, for every "Act Appalled" or "The Great Golden Baby," there was,

well, the rest of the album. The ridiculous potential that the band showed

was almost torturous, and a bit scary too. The power that could have been in

their music was palpable, but the band never threw open the floodgates and

let it out, leaving us to wonder just how many amazing things they could do

if they would. Maybe it was the three-year long writing process, or maybe

Green was disgusted by how awful his old band Saosin have become and wanted

to blow them out of the water, but Blue Sky Noise is a fantastic example of

what a band can do if they learn from their mistakes, something most artists

these days seem loathe to do.



The most obvious (and appreciated) improvements come from the musicians. With

their first two albums, Circa Survive were unfortunately faced with what I

like to call "the Paramore dilemma" - basically, when one member of a band is

instantly recognizable and garners all of the praise, whether they want to or

not. When Anthony Green was in Saosin, they were poised to take over the

burgeoning 2000s post hardcore scene, and rightfully so. But just as the hype

for a Saosin full-length album started to reach a fever pitch, Green quit and

formed Circa Survive. Oddly enough, the hype was transferred from Saosin to

Circa Survive (which is a rare occurrence in and of itself), and in the wake

of his departure, Anthony Green left Saosin to flounder and die.

Unfortunately, by comparison, Circa Survive's Juturna appeared rather tame

despite its occasional flirting with weird textures, effects, and time

signatures. In that case, the hype worked against them. And for the musicians

who joined Green's cause, because they didn't play in nearly the same style

as Saosin's members, they were written off as boring. This wasn't entirely

unjustified though. They were good, but they had a long way to go. They shone

in moments where the music was more energetic, and they seem to have realized

this with Blue Sky Noise. Opener "Strange Terrain" is jaunty, bouncy, and the

drums have improved a ridiculous amount. The main riff is catchy and a bit

sugary, but not sickeningly so by any means, and the noises peppered here and

there at certain points are tasteful and never feel out of place or overdone.

The chorus, making amazing use of background melody, is pure Anthony Green,

who certainly didn't slack in the hooks department. On Letting Go's "Living

Together" was a fantastic opener, but "Strange Terrain" blows it out of the

water. And it's only a small taste of what's to come on the rest of Blue Sky

Noise.



But first, there's "Get Out." If other Circa Survive songs could be described

as "weird" because of their texture or time signature or how flat the

choruses were, "Get Out" is weird because of how evocative it is, not just of

Translating The Name era Saosin (Green's vocals are deliciously aggressive),

but of the 90s alternative rock movement as well. It blends the energy of

"Seven Years" with a grungy, Smashing Pumpkins-like atmosphere, all capped

off with a guitar solo that screams Nirvana. But it's actually good. While it

definitely wasn't the best song to release as a teaser, "Get Out" romps

through its three minutes with a gusto that Circa Survive have rarely shown.

After that, the album veers off into the newer territory that the band

started to explore on "Strange Terrain." "Glass Arrows" seems to be what they

were going for with songs like "Mandala" from On Letting Go. Instead of

plodding along at one tempo and volume level for the entire song, "Glass

Arrows" shifts into overdrive after the choruses, a tribal drumbeat blasting

underneath palm mutes before the song recedes back into a spaced-out bridge

that doesn't overstay its welcome. For all the new things that Circa Survive

do on this album, the music is never overindulgent, and that is perhaps the

greatest testament to how much they have improved.



Another thing that seemed to be missing from Circa Survive's music in the

past was an ability to relate to its listeners. Green's lyrics were always

good, always conceptual, and he was always able to drop some great

one-liners, but perhaps the band's lack of longevity came from the fact that

while his lyrics aptly matched the music, they both ended up being a bit too

dense to be relative to their audience. One listen to "I Felt Free" changes

all that. Here, both Green and the musicians work together as a cohesive

unit. The intro is gorgeous, the riff mimicking Green's eventual vocal

melody, and the rolling drums provide an interesting backbone during the

verses, something that almost never happened on previous albums. The song

goes through a few different moods between its verses and choruses; the

former is brooding and the latter is a soaring, shining example of this new

Circa Survive, this new beast that rears its head back and roars at the

band's other two albums. "I fell apart in your arms for the last time, and I

felt free to do what I want because of the things you told me," Green croons

in the bridge, backed by a single clean-toned guitar, and he certainly sounds

like he means it. And there is freedom in this album. It rings out in every

chord, every drumbeat, every hook. For all of its different moods and tones,

Blue Sky Noise is about a band letting go of preconceived notions, of

expectations, of the shackles of their previous albums.



From there, Blue Sky Noise is more of the same, which is to say, it's more of

Circa Survive being what nobody, even their biggest fans, ever thought they

could be. The fast acoustic tempo and expertly produced drums of "Fever

Dreams," the immaculate chord progression of "Spirit Of The Stairwell"

(complete with a snaking, slide guitar-like riff), and the uncertain, tense

feelings contained within "The Longest Mile," all point to a band that have

realized their potential and so much more. All of this is encapsulated in the

last song, "Dyed In The Wool." With an almost tropical feel in the music

(think Broken Social Scene's "Pacific Theme"), the song shows once again that

Circa Survive are done with boring verses that only serve as a weak skeleton

to the rest of the song. The chorus' distant, fuzzed-out choir gives Green a

fantastic background to show that his best vocal moments aren't just when he

belts things out willy-nilly. "Dyed In The Wool" is surprising in that it

doesn't end Blue Sky Noise with any sort of bombast or fireworks, which the

band has been fond of in the past. Rather, the highlight comes from the

ascending guitar lead in the chorus, which is simple yet perfect, and the way

the last chorus leads into a decidedly beautiful moment that closes the book

in an immensely satisfying way. For anyone who thought that Blue Sky Noise

would end up being more of the same from Circa Survive, think again. Those

who previously considered them boring in the past might want to consider

checking this album out. The entirety of Blue Sky Noise blows away anything

else that Circa Survive have ever done. It is immense, it is challenging, and

it will make fools out of those who doubt it.



- Track List ---------------------------------------------------------------- -



01. Strange Terrain ( 3:59)

02. Get Out ( 3:04)

03. Glass Arrows ( 4:12)

04. I Felt Free ( 3:56)

05. Imaginary Enemy ( 4:25)

06. Through the Desert Alone ( 4:06)

07. Frozen Creek ( 5:00)

08. Fever Dreams ( 4:35)

09. Spirit of The Stairwell ( 5:30)

10. The Longest Mile ( 4:04)

11. Compendium ( 1:49)

12. Dyed in the Wool ( 4:58)



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