CIRCLE OF REASON
Circle Of Reason are an Alt and Post Rock band based in the South West of the UK and formed in 2009. ‘A Favour For A Stranger’ is their new EP which contains three songs and, according to the press release, brings to mind bands such as Smashing Pumpkins, Muse, Silverchair and Queens of the Stone Age. Said release also states they are versatile, high energy, visceral, pounding and alluring. They have a fair following on Facebook, have been receiving airplay on Kerrang TV and Scuzz and have been getting some good reviews for this release.
If, however, Circle Of Reason expect the same response from me then they are going to be sorely disappointed! If you’ve read my past reviews then you will know I’m not the biggest fan of this style of music but I do try and give credit where credit is due and, to be fair, they do mange to start each of the three songs fairly promisingly with riffs that, for Alt-Rock, aren’t too bad. Track one, ‘Chasing The Sun’, manages to last like this for about twenty seconds before reality unfortunately kicks in and I have to bear probably the worst and most insipid vocal performance this side of narcolepsy! The track loses any sense of power and promise, there is no melody to speak of and it has finished before my mind has even started to regain consciousness. Tracks two and three, ‘Silver Scene’ and ‘Sea Of Voices’, fair only very slightly better because the band do try and generate some power and the songs are more up-tempo but, once again, the bog standard alt style vocals do not actually do the music any justice, melody is lacking almost completely, and there is a very annoying cymbal hiss, which I am assuming is possibly a fault in production or mix. Lyrics are depressing, which I suppose is to be expected with this style of music, and the cover ‘artwork’ (if you can call it that) which is a photograph of the back of someone’s head wearing a flowery shirt is about as monotonous and boring as the vocals!
Interestingly and surprisingly, Circle Of Reason’s Facebook page also states that they are ‘Prog’, ‘Melodic’ and ‘Metal’. That’s three of the best jokes I’ve heard all year and it did have me wondering if I had actually woken up on April 1st by mistake. They could indeed be a much better band if they ditched the vocalist and went for someone a little more hard hitting who could perhaps sing rather than moan, but I very much doubt that is going to happen judging by the amount of people who have obviously been watching a little too much ‘X-Factor’ and think he is fantastic. A favour for this particular stranger is that I don’t have to listen to them again!
If, however, Circle Of Reason expect the same response from me then they are going to be sorely disappointed! If you’ve read my past reviews then you will know I’m not the biggest fan of this style of music but I do try and give credit where credit is due and, to be fair, they do mange to start each of the three songs fairly promisingly with riffs that, for Alt-Rock, aren’t too bad. Track one, ‘Chasing The Sun’, manages to last like this for about twenty seconds before reality unfortunately kicks in and I have to bear probably the worst and most insipid vocal performance this side of narcolepsy! The track loses any sense of power and promise, there is no melody to speak of and it has finished before my mind has even started to regain consciousness. Tracks two and three, ‘Silver Scene’ and ‘Sea Of Voices’, fair only very slightly better because the band do try and generate some power and the songs are more up-tempo but, once again, the bog standard alt style vocals do not actually do the music any justice, melody is lacking almost completely, and there is a very annoying cymbal hiss, which I am assuming is possibly a fault in production or mix. Lyrics are depressing, which I suppose is to be expected with this style of music, and the cover ‘artwork’ (if you can call it that) which is a photograph of the back of someone’s head wearing a flowery shirt is about as monotonous and boring as the vocals!
Interestingly and surprisingly, Circle Of Reason’s Facebook page also states that they are ‘Prog’, ‘Melodic’ and ‘Metal’. That’s three of the best jokes I’ve heard all year and it did have me wondering if I had actually woken up on April 1st by mistake. They could indeed be a much better band if they ditched the vocalist and went for someone a little more hard hitting who could perhaps sing rather than moan, but I very much doubt that is going to happen judging by the amount of people who have obviously been watching a little too much ‘X-Factor’ and think he is fantastic. A favour for this particular stranger is that I don’t have to listen to them again!
LABEL:
FORMAT:
Self-released
EP
A FAVOUR FOR A STRANGER
Review by Rick Tilley
RUNNING TIME:
10:41
RELEASE DATE:
3rd Dec 2012
TRACK LISTING
1) Chasing the Sun
2) Silver Scene
3) Sea of Voices
2) Silver Scene
3) Sea of Voices
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:
UK
"...probably the worst and most insipid vocal performance this side of narcolepsy!"
