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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