I discovered the Americans from 'Circuline' with their second album 'Counterpoint' in 2016 and they released in 2020 the live 'Circuline:Newview' recorded at the progressive festival 'Progstock' in 2017. For the fans who follow them, this new opus is almost entirely known since they have over the last year, presented 'C.O.R.E' in different videos of which I put the links below to which were added the 'Making Of' of the compositions and the only title that is added is the last of the album, 'Transmission Error' which we will talk about again below.
We find this progressive which takes us into compositions presenting many drawers and which recall major formations of the 70s/80s in this style. Moreover, the first title 'Tempus Horribilis' is a perfect example of this, since it is cut into several parts: it begins with magnificent 'Yessian' choirs on a catchy rhythm, then the instrumental break at 2:45 takes us back this time to the traces of the beginning of 'Pink Floyd' at the end of the 60s, then, the sung section offers a quiet atmosphere which can recall 'Renaissance'. Moreover, 'Third Rail' which follows, even if 'Natalie Brown' is in a slightly more serious register than 'Annie Haslam', is very tagged 'Renaissance' with a melody with sounds reminiscent of those of the British, then, 'Say Their Name', in the first half of the title, is a very beautiful acoustic ballad with very beautiful vocal harmonies filled with a beautiful sensitivity, the instrumental parts which follow bringing a more sought-after side with this magnificent guitar solo of 'Dave Bainbridge' interspersed with percussion parts of a very pleasant exoticism, the sung finale ending this title in a beautiful way on a rhythmic acceleration.
With 'All', different eras of progressive meet with 'Yessian' vocal harmonies but also more contemporary instrumental sections which show this mixture always very well balanced to captivate the listener, the melodic side of the chorus bringing a fairly immediate accessibility, then, 'Temporal Thing' begins quietly with beautiful acoustic guitar sounds then melancholic piano to continue on a magnificent sung section that could be a kind of fusion between 'Yes' and 'Renaissance'. More energetic, 'You' begins with an instrumental part on a slow marked rhythm then, continues by accelerating the tempo with vocal harmonies that completely fill the sound space, the rhythm section and the saturated riffs bringing a much more tormented side bringing diversity to the whole. What I like about this style of progressive is these striking contrasts, because, after the sound intensity of the previous track, 'Blindside' comes to calm the ardor with moving choirs and the singing of Andrew Colyer' which brings a beautiful softness to this beautiful melancholic ballad, the guitar interventions of 'Dave Bainbridge' adding even more delicacy and being quite simply divine. We come to the end of our beautiful journey with the centerpiece of the album, 'Transmission Error', which is a beautiful summary of the whole and which takes us into a modern progressive labyrinth with contemporary sounds that require several listens to fully absorb them and which, in the end, is of great strength and shows all the talent of this group.
In summary, the Americans of 'Circuline' release a magnificent album that combines within the compositions sections of immediate accessibility and others more complex which is ultimately, for my part, what I expect from a progressive album, and 'C.O.R.E' should be one of the best releases of 2024 in this style because it is an excellent representative of what the progressive style is through the ages...
List of official videos on the 'Circuline' youtube page:
01 - 'Tempus Horribilis'
02 - 'Third Rail'
03 - 'Say Their Name'
04 - 'All'
05 - 'Temporal Thing'
06 - 'You'
07 - 'Blindside' | |
