Circa Survive
On Letting Go
Equal Vision
Part of me really wants to like Circa Survive, for several reasons:
- Because Anthony Green’s voice is unconventionally high-pitched enough to catch my attention.
- Because Green quit fronting Saosin right as they started getting popular because he hated what his life was becoming, and went on to start his own vision in Circa Survive.
- Though far from my usual music taste pool, Circa Survive have something strangely ethereal about their neo-progressive emo blend of space rock that intrigues me enough to give them a repeated listen.
With this in mind, I opened my ears to the band’s sophomore disc, On Letting Go – an album that bleeds with tight intimacy resulting from 2 years of constant touring, as well as the close quarters fact that the band currently all live under the same roof. While this same small fact may eventually lead to a frustrated blowout months/years down the road, for now it serves as a glue that holds this band tighter than a republican’s wallet. The band that lives together, makes sweet music together. Hey, it worked for R.E.M.
If you’ve never heard this band, and have no earthly idea what to make of the term neo-prog/experimental/emo, these are the bands that put their emotive vocals overtop complicated guitar parts, desire epic theatrical productions and who may be spotted wearing a Pink Floyd or Dream Theater t-shirt. Modern bands like At The Drive In (who went on to spawn both The Mars Volta and Sparta), Coheed & Cambria and 30 Seconds to Mars are a few of these sorts of bands that have found a good amount of success.
This epic effort, a semi-themed production about letting go of one’s demons and accepting love as the most important thing in life, may not have cemented this band with a permanent place in my “love them!” list, it has still managed to produce a few memorable tunes: “Travel Hymn,” and “The Difference Between Medicine And Poison Is In The Dose” to name just two.
Circa Survive: http://www.circasurvive.com
