August 23, 2011 • Gatepost Recordings
I've never heard Circle Takes the Square until recently (and had only barely heard of them), and I had at first brushed them off as just another generic screamo/post-hardcore band. As it turns out their sound goes way beyond that, if the long track times on this EP weren't a big clue, so I was quite surprised by this release, and although it's nothing mind-blowing, it's a very interesting listen.
Rites of Initiation fuses a surprising different styles together during its short run: atmospheric sludge and post-rock at the start, math rock, perhaps some metalcore, and a weird sound that I can only describe as "progressive screamo" which is the bulk of the EP. Lots of jagged riffs, unusual time signatures, layered vocals, very complex drumming; it sounds messy but it's definitely very focused and the band has a good handle on what they are doing. However this genre-hopping and chaotic riffing gets to be a bit jumpy for my tastes and it's hard to follow what's going on most of the time since there's so much chaos; by the time the third track rolls around it has just gotten to be overwhelming overall. Things calm down a tiny bit for the fourth track as far as the thrashing goes; it's still a pretty intense piece but easier to follow.
The four songs here are supposedly a teaser of sorts for their next full-length album, but interestingly here they all flow together into one long piece (there's that progressive thing again). I don't think it works particularly well for the reasons described above; it's just too much going on and too much to take in all at once. Fortunately, it's an EP so it doesn't last long enough to get fatiguing, but if the full-length is going to be like this EP I will have some doubts about its quality.
Regardless, it's not a bad little EP if this style is something you're familiar with and interested in. It's pretty alien to me so I'm having a tough time getting into it and finding it enjoyable, but I can't say it's bad.
No comments:
Post a Comment