| Russian Circles — Guidance (August 5, 2016) |
Russian Circles — Guidance (August 5, 2016) 
» There’s an organic and unforced feel to the latest album by Chicago–based post–rock trio Russian Circles, as if songs were allowed to grow wild rather than carefully cultivated.
Formed: 2004 in Chicago, IL
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Album release: August 5, 2016
Genre: Post~Rock, Post~Metal, Instrumental
Record Label: Sargent House
Duration: 41:00
Tracks:
1. Asa 4:00
2. Vorel 5:29
3. Mota 6:33
4. Afrika 6:31
5. Overboard 5:32
6. Calla 6:23
7. Lisboa 6:32
Personnel:
» Brian Cook — Bass
» Mike Sullivan — Guitar
» Dave Turncrantz — Drums ♦» ‘Guidance features a more bad–ass Russian Circles, a group that seems less elegiac, and more ready to plant their feet solidly on the ground, fighting back bloodied and bruised against each body blow.’ Pitchfork / “…the album the group’s sixth is moody, dense and dynamic, the gripping soundtrack to an un–filmed drama.” Rolling Stone / With their sixth album Guidance, Russian Circles carry on in their quest to conjure multi–dimensional dramatic instrumental narratives and to scout out new textures from their respective instruments. Songs aren’t constructed out of highbrow concepts; they’re forged out of gut instinct and base emotional response. ♦» Nor was the band as is often the case with artists later in their career interested in testing their fans’ patience or securing a new broader audience with a radical reinvention. Instead, Russian Circles use Guidance to continue examining the polarity of quiet and loud, complexity and simplicity, ugliness and beauty. Every Russian Circles album has had its share of new sonic vistas, and Guidance finds the band still searching out new sounds while continuing to play to the collective strengths of guitarist Mike Sullivan, drummer Dave Turncrantz, and bassist Brian Cook. Starting with the meditative restraint of album opener Asa , Guidance sets off on a path of metallic savagery (Vorel , Calla), arpeggio tectonics (Mota), mercurial anthems (Afrika), somber segues (Overboard), and seismic Americana noir (Lisboa). With the help of engineer/co–producer Kurt Ballou and his God City Studio, Russian Circles were able to capture this broad tonal palette and wide array of emotional motifs into a cohesive journey through the tumultuous corners of human existence. We often expect artists to fall into patterns and formulas, but for Russian Circles the creative method is still a mystery. Songs develop at their own pace. Inspiration comes from strange sources. If anything, the process of writing is every bit the enigma it was back when the band crafted their first song in 2004. Life itself is a struggle with the unknown and a search for meaning, and the creative process for Russian Circles has mirrored that pursuit. The radical dynamic shifts and straightforward production of Enter, the lockstep metallic attack and pensive comedowns of Station, the symphonic grandeur of Geneva, the grit and grime of Empros, and the oscillation between melancholy and wrath on Memorial were all incremental steps towards an ideal, and Guidance brings the band that much closer to that realization. In the interim between albums, a veteran handed off an envelope of war photos to the spouse of a band member. The photos depicted a man being led to his execution. There was no context for the traumatic scenes, no history, no background. Yet the dignity this anonymous figure exuded in his fatalistic march resonated with the band. Here was someone that knew his fate and marched boldly towards his destiny. The band used these photos for the Guidance album art, knowing that we all march towards our own conclusions, and we can only hope that we face our futures with the same honor and nobility. If the band’s fourth album Empros (Greek translation: Onward) was a statement of perseverance, Guidance became a statement of striding into the future undeterred by what lies ahead.
Also:
By Jason Heller, JULY 27 2016; Score: 7.5
♦» Unlike a huge portion of heavy and/or post–rock albums, lately or in the past — including records in Russian Circles’ own back catalog — there are no lengthy, eight–minute–plus tracks on Guidance. Nor are there any brief interludes. Aside from delicate, folk–like opener “Asa,” each track occupies a relatively uniform span of time: roughly around the six–minute mark. Conventional wisdom would lead you to believe that such uniformity would make for a flat feeling; instead, Russian Circles use the strictness of that structure to explore numerous ways of wringing contemplation and ecstatic out of its tightly bound, three–person setup. Then again, that’s what Russian Circles — even at their most sprawling — have always done: searched for resonance and depth in the turbulence around us. (excerpt) ♦» http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/22147-guidance/
AllMusic Review by Paul Simpson; Score: ****
♦» http://www.allmusic.com/album/guidance-mw0002947317
Website: http://russiancirclesband.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/russiancircband
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/russiancirclesmusic
Albums:
♦» 2006 Enter Flameshovel
♦» 2008 Station Suicide Squeeze
♦» 2009 Geneva Suicide Squeeze
♦» 2011 Empros Sargent House
♦» 2013 Memorial Sargent House
♦» 2016 Guidance Sargent House
♦»♦»♦»♦»♦»♦»♦»♦»♦»♦»♦»♦»♦»♦»♦»♦»♦»♦»♦»♦»♦»♦»♦»♦»♦»♦»♦»♦»♦»♦»♦»♦»
| Russian Circles — Guidance (August 5, 2016) |
Formed: 2004 in Chicago, IL
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Album release: August 5, 2016
Genre: Post~Rock, Post~Metal, Instrumental
Record Label: Sargent House
Duration: 41:00
Tracks:
1. Asa 4:00
2. Vorel 5:29
3. Mota 6:33
4. Afrika 6:31
5. Overboard 5:32
6. Calla 6:23
7. Lisboa 6:32
Personnel:
» Brian Cook — Bass
» Mike Sullivan — Guitar
» Dave Turncrantz — Drums ♦» ‘Guidance features a more bad–ass Russian Circles, a group that seems less elegiac, and more ready to plant their feet solidly on the ground, fighting back bloodied and bruised against each body blow.’ Pitchfork / “…the album the group’s sixth is moody, dense and dynamic, the gripping soundtrack to an un–filmed drama.” Rolling Stone / With their sixth album Guidance, Russian Circles carry on in their quest to conjure multi–dimensional dramatic instrumental narratives and to scout out new textures from their respective instruments. Songs aren’t constructed out of highbrow concepts; they’re forged out of gut instinct and base emotional response. ♦» Nor was the band as is often the case with artists later in their career interested in testing their fans’ patience or securing a new broader audience with a radical reinvention. Instead, Russian Circles use Guidance to continue examining the polarity of quiet and loud, complexity and simplicity, ugliness and beauty. Every Russian Circles album has had its share of new sonic vistas, and Guidance finds the band still searching out new sounds while continuing to play to the collective strengths of guitarist Mike Sullivan, drummer Dave Turncrantz, and bassist Brian Cook. Starting with the meditative restraint of album opener Asa , Guidance sets off on a path of metallic savagery (Vorel , Calla), arpeggio tectonics (Mota), mercurial anthems (Afrika), somber segues (Overboard), and seismic Americana noir (Lisboa). With the help of engineer/co–producer Kurt Ballou and his God City Studio, Russian Circles were able to capture this broad tonal palette and wide array of emotional motifs into a cohesive journey through the tumultuous corners of human existence. We often expect artists to fall into patterns and formulas, but for Russian Circles the creative method is still a mystery. Songs develop at their own pace. Inspiration comes from strange sources. If anything, the process of writing is every bit the enigma it was back when the band crafted their first song in 2004. Life itself is a struggle with the unknown and a search for meaning, and the creative process for Russian Circles has mirrored that pursuit. The radical dynamic shifts and straightforward production of Enter, the lockstep metallic attack and pensive comedowns of Station, the symphonic grandeur of Geneva, the grit and grime of Empros, and the oscillation between melancholy and wrath on Memorial were all incremental steps towards an ideal, and Guidance brings the band that much closer to that realization. In the interim between albums, a veteran handed off an envelope of war photos to the spouse of a band member. The photos depicted a man being led to his execution. There was no context for the traumatic scenes, no history, no background. Yet the dignity this anonymous figure exuded in his fatalistic march resonated with the band. Here was someone that knew his fate and marched boldly towards his destiny. The band used these photos for the Guidance album art, knowing that we all march towards our own conclusions, and we can only hope that we face our futures with the same honor and nobility. If the band’s fourth album Empros (Greek translation: Onward) was a statement of perseverance, Guidance became a statement of striding into the future undeterred by what lies ahead.
Also:
By Jason Heller, JULY 27 2016; Score: 7.5
♦» Unlike a huge portion of heavy and/or post–rock albums, lately or in the past — including records in Russian Circles’ own back catalog — there are no lengthy, eight–minute–plus tracks on Guidance. Nor are there any brief interludes. Aside from delicate, folk–like opener “Asa,” each track occupies a relatively uniform span of time: roughly around the six–minute mark. Conventional wisdom would lead you to believe that such uniformity would make for a flat feeling; instead, Russian Circles use the strictness of that structure to explore numerous ways of wringing contemplation and ecstatic out of its tightly bound, three–person setup. Then again, that’s what Russian Circles — even at their most sprawling — have always done: searched for resonance and depth in the turbulence around us. (excerpt) ♦» http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/22147-guidance/
AllMusic Review by Paul Simpson; Score: ****
♦» http://www.allmusic.com/album/guidance-mw0002947317
Website: http://russiancirclesband.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/russiancircband
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/russiancirclesmusic
Albums:
♦» 2006 Enter Flameshovel
♦» 2008 Station Suicide Squeeze
♦» 2009 Geneva Suicide Squeeze
♦» 2011 Empros Sargent House
♦» 2013 Memorial Sargent House
♦» 2016 Guidance Sargent House
♦»♦»♦»♦»♦»♦»♦»♦»♦»♦»♦»♦»♦»♦»♦»♦»♦»♦»♦»♦»♦»♦»♦»♦»♦»♦»♦»♦»♦»♦»♦»♦»