photo courtesy of Glass Onyon PR

Album Review of Circuline: C.O.R.E.

Circuline is an acclaimed progressive rock band, and C.O.R.E. is the sort of soaring album that you’d expect from one of the genre’s best. On C.O.R.E., Circuline harkens back to classic progressive rock musical styles, throws in some elements from music with broader commercial appeal, and pushes the envelope on new, original styles and sounds. It all makes for a fun repeated listen, even for those of us who aren’t hardcore prog rockers. If you’ve been reading this blog for a long time, you may recall Eric Harabadian’s review of Circuline’s Counterpoint in 2017. Well, this time it’s my turn.

You’ll hear a lot of different styles on C.O.R.E., but if there’s one classic progressive rock band Circuline reminds me of on this disc, it’s Yes. Yes, Yes drew a lot of classic rock fans’ attention, as well. And that’s the point. Among today’s prog-rockers, Circuline is one of the more likely bands to perform a broad-appeal rock progressive rock song. There are several on C.O.R.E.

cover art: painting by Henrietta-Mantooth-Bagley; image courtesy of Glass Onyon PR

Album-opener “Tempus Horribilis” isn’t one of those songs, but it is incredibly interesting and one of the more experimental songs on the record, with disconnected, almost jazz-rock-like guitar bursts, artsy spoken-word sections, and one of those mid-song restarts that tricks you into thinking maybe a new song is beginning. Nope. Of course, “Tempus Horribilis” clocks in at more than 6 minutes, so for a non-prog band it probably would be two songs. So yeah, it’s a very cool song if you’re a music fan, but it’s not bordering on mainstream in the least. From a song structure perspective, I could almost hear Pink Floyd perform a song like this, though Circuline’s central sound differs significantly from Floyd’s.

“Third Rail,” the next song, is probably the most likely crossover song. A couple others have a similarly classic rock-based feeling, but “Third Rail” clocks in at just 4:11, more than a minute shorter than the next-shortest song on C.O.R.E. That’s not the only reason, though. Keys, drums, and guitars provide swirling tension-builds supporting Natalie Brown’s powerfully emotive, soaring vocals.

“Say Their Name,” next, is a nifty near-ballad, as the music bed is mostly soft. Sure, when all the instruments enter simultaneously, it can get a little noisy, but that’s just the change of pace on this number. And some of the musical breakdowns in the middle of the song would make it difficult to slow-dance to, not that that should stop you from trying. But it’s a cool, groovy listen, that’s for sure. Sort of jazz, I suppose, if performed by a progressive rock band.

photo courtesy of Glass Onyon PR

Just as “Say Their Name” isn’t jazz, despite the structural similarity, “All” isn’t a Broadway showtune, despite having some segments where the group-sing could be straight out, let’s say, Les Misérables. There’s a mid-song instrumental exchange, too, where I can picture a stage character uneasily looking about, perhaps holding his hand above his eyes and leaning forward, as if searching for something. Sure, there’s too much instrumental jamming to find a home as something other than a shapeshifting progressive album track, so don’t listen for it on Broadway, but the sonic journey is enjoyably long and winding.

“Temporal Thing” is one of Circuline’s broad-appeal, mid-tempo Yes-reminiscent numbers. It’s followed by “You,” on which the band goes a bit dark and quite foreboding, something you’ll find nowhere else on this record, but the haunting sound befits lyrics like “You bore a hole in my soul. Now I’m screaming.” It’s a very powerful and emotional number. Then, for a change of pace, the sweetly mellow “Blindside” follows. It’s the third song in such an interesting song trio, showcasing Circuline’s depth and breadth back-to-back-to-back. As noted in the text next to the “Blindside” music video shared on Facebook, the song is “inspired by power ballads from David Foster and Dianne Warren, moving into anthemic rock choruses, with stacked vocals inspired by Journey.” So why didn’t I suggest “Blindside” as Circuline’s most likely crossover song? Well, you’re not likely to hear a 6-minute song on the radio unless you take your time machine back to the ’70s or early ’80s and find yourself a long-form AOR station. But it’s really cool on your stereo and would be equally so in concert. (Or back to that slow dance I mentioned earlier? Well, this is your song.)

Circuline closes this record with “Transmission Error.” And I seem to be mentioning song lengths a lot in this review, don’t I? Well, this is the album’s longest track, at more than nine minutes. But that’s not really the point. The point is that none of these songs seems too long. They’re so interesting, with unexpected sonic twists and turns that deliver the sorts of payoffs that lead you to want to follow the next one down what appears to be another dark alley but, as it turns out, most certainly isn’t.

There’s a reason Circuline is considered a premier progressive rock band. They’ve got the chops, they’re never boring or redundant, and they turn what can sometimes be a standoffish (to outsiders) musical genre into something both progheads and the general rock public can enjoy. If you haven’t heard C.O.R.E. yet, give it a listen. If you’re a mainstream rocker, start with “Third Rail” and “Blindside.” If you’re a little dark, try “You.” If you’re into the more experimental stuff, check out “Tempus Horribilis” and “Transmission Error.” If you’re into Pink Floyd, maybe also “Tempus Horribilis” and “Transmission Error,” though you might dig different sections of those tracks. C.O.R.E. is simply an exceptional progressive rock album that deftly covers a broad swath of the progressive landscape.