Andrew Danso

With today’s records becoming more and more complex, it’s not surprising to see heads being turned to the more stripped down voyeurisms of instrumental rock – without doubt a trend has been developed. The fad surely soon to die out (as soon as this well fed audience find something else pretentious enough to hang their coats on). But phenomena it might be; musically it’s easy to disregard as tasteless, and stale, but artistically, it’s as rich as ever, with challenging concepts for fans to mull over and newcomers to enjoy the rhythmic simplicity.

Russian Circles aren’t much different to most post-rock instrumentalism; they’re content on building an atmosphere with whatever instruments they have (which on playback doesn’t make for a huge production at all, being a trio), and clamour on riff after riff, with the occasional loop splattered on top of the chaos.

Stylistically, they’re a clever bunch. Often living within the sludge akin to Celtic Frost, they climax to speeds as bold as Tool, and jam out within spacey lulls, littered in ambient guitar effects, with the occasional percussive boom. Better yet, in their meticulous structure, the undercooked production on the album makes the band feel spontaneous, as if they’re making the racket in the room right next to you. It all makes up for a concrete (and first) full-length, if unremarkable.

7/10 Powerplay issue #138