Album Review: Off The Board - A Studio 4 Family Compilation

Album Rating: A-

Will Yip has a major hand in producing the sounds of the punk scene's most beloved, up-and-coming underground artists. Bands such as Title Fight, Pity Sex and Circa Survive have all procured amazing records under his guidance and it's only inevitable that a compilation featuring these great musicians would come to fruition. Off The Board: A Studio 4 Family Compilation is a mini-retrospective of Will Yip's contributions, gathering unreleased and new songs from his production roster. Featuring some of the best songs that these artists have ever wrote, it's a must-have for fans of the bands on which Will Yip has spent his career.

Album Review: Circa Survive - Violent Waves

Album Rating: B+

Violent Waves is standard fare for Anthony Green and company, and this should come as no surprise to anyone who's been paying enough attention. Sure, there's been plenty of reason to believe otherwise - Blue Sky Noise was a wise excursion into more conservatively crafted progressive melodies, and this shift would imply natural evolution. However, it's now evident that Circa Survive desire to stick to to what they're most known for: atmosphere over focused songwriting. This fact makes or breaks the group's latest outing, either making Violent Waves the proper return to form we've all been waiting for, or a curious case of backpedaling. Which case is more appealing to you?

Artist of the Day: Circa Survive

By now the history of Circa Survive is written in stone: Anthony Green becomes disillusioned with the success of his old band, Saosin, prompting him to start Circa Survive (which has become even bigger than his previous band, oddly enough). Three critically and commercially successful albums later, Green and co. have become accustomed to setting the alternative music scene on fire.  From the post-hardcore infused Juturna to the more rock oriented Blue Sky Noise, the band has been progressing over the years by tightening their sound.  However, this has been a bit slow with each album seemingly similar to the last.  The band's latest album, Violent Waves looks to change that.

The band decided to record and produce the album completely by themselves, even going as far as to release it using their own funds.  Focusing on the energy found during their live shows, the band hopes to imbue a new vibe to their music.  And so far, the album looks to be shaping up to that vision.    More importantly is the new direction and willingness to experiment.  Violent Waves is easily the most experimental the band has sounded, and perhaps the least "Circa" sounding thing they have done.  Surprisingly this is absolutely perfect, as is sounds stunningly fresh.

Only time will tell if Circa Survive have made the right choice in their new endeavors.  Be sure to check out Violent Waves on August 28th to see how things pan out.

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Albums Of The Year 2010 #5: Circa Survive - Blue Sky Noise

Circa Survive is the band of the year. Two exceptional releases on a major label, several magazine covers, and having one of the most beloved vocalists of the year can do that for a band. Blue Sky Noise is the apex of Circa's career so far, with some of the best songs the band has ever done while still being their most accessible. Had the first half of the album been released as an EP, it would have been possibly the best EP of all time, as Circa continuously blows a listener away. "Get Out" is the most aggressive song the band has released, as vocalist Anthony Green screams and cries at almost an impossible register as you can feel him screaming at his own mind, begging for mercy. "Glass Arrows" shows Circa at their most technical and atmospheric, with excellent instrumentals and an odd time signature that almost seems normal for the band. "I Felt Free" shows that Circa can make an absolutely stunning pop song and "Imaginary Enemy" could have dominated the alternative rock stations. The second half of the album is solid, but seems a lot worse when compared to the beautiful first half. However, songs like "Fever Dreams" and "Spirit Of The Stairwell" are still great in their own way. This album has been one of the best of the year from the first listen, and Circa has broken into many people's (including my own) list of favorite bands. This year however, Circa has no competition. Listen to Circa Survive on Myspace here.

Review for their latest release, the Appendage EP here.

Album Review: Circa Survive - Appendage EP

Most people get happy to see one release in a year by one of their favorite bands. Circa Survive wasn't content with that in 2010. Along with one of the best releases of the year, Blue Sky Noise, Circa Survive came around with round two with the Appendage EP. Although only an extension of Blue Sky Noise with five B-sides not released on the album, it's almost like the tracks could have been on the album. In fact, the album may even have been better with these tracks on it.

New Circa Survive Song Streaming

Circa Survive already has one of my favorite albums of the year, and now may be adding one of my favorite EP's as well. The EP (named Appendage) will be five songs that were recorded during the process of creating Blue Sky Noise but were not released on the album. One of the tracks, "Stare Like You'll Stay" is now streaming and seems to come directly from Blue Sky Noise. Check it out here. The EP will be released November 30th.