By 2006, the post-rock realm was already fast becoming oversaturated with bands that opted for the cookie-cutter approach of atmospheric doodling – y’know, slow guitar crescendos and modal vamps drenched in boutique reverb and so forth… Then, along came a band that drew influences from metal and math-rock atop the usual post-rock leanings. By putting extra emphasis on punchy riffs in the vein of PELICAN and ISIS, this bunch strikes a perfect balance between heaviness and atmospheric delicacy. Hailing from Chicago, Illinois, RUSSIAN CIRCLES released their debut album “Enter” on May 16th, 2006 – or, depending on your Internet source, on June 26th – via Flameshovel Records, and the sheer power of its riff-laden approach blew many of its post-rock peers right out of the water. On this entrée, there was by far – and still is – more muscle than on your typical post-rock selection. Looking back, it seemed as though this band came out of nowhere – in Finland, it seemed so, at the time, at least – and right off the bat, they proved to be masters at fusing math-rock, metal, and progressive elements into a highly unique, yet cohesive post-rock sound.
This 6-track endeavor kicks off with the interweaving guitar melodies of “Carpe” that crescendo into a wall of sound in the best post-rock fashion. Two tracks on this album offer more bounce to the ounce, so to speak, and the opener is the first. Some critics at the time even went so far as to claim it was the peak of the selection, served up front and setting the bar perhaps a bit too high for the remaining tracks to deliver. In my opinion, though, “Death Rides a Horse” is every bit as muscular as far as the heavy riffs go. Plus, sporting an affinity for the atmospheric noodling as well, I don’t mind the smoother soundscapes of the other tracks either.
The second track, “Micha,” is the first to gear up on the atmospheric side of the band (save for a brief section of pummeling heaviness toward the end of the song). While the band has gained a well-deserved reputation in the post-rock circles as a supreme bunch of class-A riff-lords over the years, RUSSIAN CIRCLES are no strangers to building innocuous atmospheres either – and “Micha” is a fine example of that, mixing light and shade with grandeur. They play with the beauty of contrast so marvellously, in fact, that even the snobs at Pitchfork couldn’t help but notice the band’s genre-melding goodness. Yeah, sure, they only gave a 6.4 score for the album, but they have that reputation of being straight-up uppity music snobs to maintain, mind you. To rank an album like this any higher would have been quite a stretch.
And speaking of genre-blending greatness, along with “New Macabre,” closing the album, the title track is another genuine everything-bagel of sound. Post-rock outfits are typically quite adept at transitioning from a calm tranquility to a heavy riffage, but RUSSIAN CIRCLES‘ knack for pulling this particular trick rivals even some of the best metal acts. Considering we’re talking about a three-piece here, it is no small feat! Instrument-wise, none of the three band members shows off much of technical prowess – this is not a prog band, exactly. The way these dudes complement one another, let alone bring out the essence of each song, is simply phenomenal – upon the first spin with this selection, it becomes quite clear that here’s a band with real chemistry. Drummer Dave Turncranz, for example, provides the songs with just the right amount of rhythmic complexity to keep the flow going – the riffs and melodies are not the most intricate, not even in the post-rock context. The band has clearly subscribed to the songwriting tenet which states that the song is not ready when there is nothing left to add to it, but rather when there is nothing left to remove from it – y’know, less is more…
So, all things considered, RUSSIAN CIRCLES‘ debut might not have been the most ground-breaking post-rock endeavor of its era, but it was so perfectly crafted and executed that it remains one of the best debut albums, post-rock or not, to date. In short, good shit.
Written by Jani Lehtinen
Tracklist
- Carpe
- Micha
- Death Rides a Horse
- Enter
- You Already Did
- New Macabre
Lineup
Mike Sullivan – guitars
Colin Dekuiper – bass
Dave Turncrantz – drums
plus:
Rob Lowe – piano, Mellotron, listening, and instrument lending
Label
Flameshovel Records
