Send "Circa Survive " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Absolutepunk |
 When did you begin to lose interest in the bands you once loved? Was it their sophomore slump, where you lost a passion once felt by their debut's first few spins? Maybe it was the third album, where the band progressed just a little too much for your liking. Then there's always the jump to a major label that cuts ties between die hard fans and their favorite artists. For many of us, we move on to more "creative" projects, graduating with a nose up from the artists we were once "too naive to see past."Cancel all the old reasons of how we lost touch with those we once loved. No, now we live in a state of nobrow. You and 50 other people didn't see a band open for nobody. In actuality, you and a million others discovered their gripping sounds across a space of on and off switches. Before you call Circa Survive a sell out or a misstep in the wrong direction for their third album, and major label debut, take a good hard listen to Blue Sky Noise. We haven't heard from the band since 2007's On Letting Go, a bright summer opposite to 2005's winter of Juturna. So, what season does Blue Sky Noise bring us in? Well, a sonic one that combines all the band's timbre, but cuts down to a single blast of every color the band has illuminated to date. Much like the album's first single "Get Out," Circa Survive has figured out how to write traditional rock songs that encompass their signature sound. It's what some fans may shun and what the masses need in a great rock band. "I Felt Free" grows gradually, almost an early album ballad, and one song that comes closest to a Top 40 single with piano and beautiful harmony from Anthony Green's voice. As the track moves into "Imaginary Enemy," Nick Beard's bass is nasty, countering the slick guitars tones of Colin Frangicetto and Brendon Ekstrom. This is the sound of a band grabbing the flag at the top of the mountain. The quick rhythm of acoustic guitar and Steve Clifford's drumming never pays off in a capsizing frequency of "Fever Dreams," but finds itself to a crescendo breaking point without necessarily boiling over the build - and that's where the band has learned to step back on this release. "Glass Arrows" backs a heated opening sequence of songs that starts with the quick sonic guitar slides and finger tapping of "Strange Terrain."...full text |
| Sputnikmusic |
| The problem with Circa Survive has never been with their music. They play their instruments competently and whether you like his tone or not, Anthony Green can sing. The problem is their lack of longevity. Debut album Juturna was good, but it only lasted for a few listens. An icon within the scene's attempt to make progressive rock music was interesting, endearing even, but ultimately the album was swept into the undertow of dozens of other albums by bands who were better at making that sort of music from the start (Minus The Bear, The Mars Volta, et al). Juturna was weird, but not necessarily in a good way; it simply made the album sort of impenetrable but with none of the charm that makes music like that worth exploring. It was catchy, but apart from "Act Appalled," the melodies were either too linear or too plain to warrant the listener singing along. On Letting Go, the band's sophomore effort, was super catchy, but with all of the weirdness gone. Instead of expanding upon the aspect of their music that had the potential to make them unique, they abandoned it completely in favor of stronger melodies and improved singing from Green. But though the oddities were gone, the songs were there. The album showed a band who was marvelously with it, poised on the edge of...something. It wasn't clear what cliff they were on, what awaited them at the bottom of the plunge. More popularity? A return to experimentation? The album was great, but the longevity still wasn't there because it was missing something, something we all hoped they would find on their next album. And find it they did. The "it" in question isn't something that can really be defined, and honestly it isn't even the point. The point is that Circa Survive have done everything right on Blue Sky Noise. The sort of deft passion that they display here isn't something that comes along very often for a band, yet here they are acting as if it's the most natural thing in the world. It makes you wonder why they weren't this good from the start, but the learning process they went through ends up making Blue Sky Noise all the more satisfying. With On Letting Go, for every jaw-dropping track like "Your Friends Are Gone," there was a disappointingly bland song like "In The Morning And Amazing." On Juturna, for every "Act Appalled" or "The Great Golden Baby," there was, well, the rest of the album. The ridiculous potential that the band showed was almost torturous, and a bit scary too. The power that could have been in their music was palpable, but the band never threw open the floodgates and let it out, leaving us to wonder just how many amazing things they could do if they would. Maybe it was the three-year long writing process, or maybe Green was disgusted by how awful his old band Saosin have become and wanted to blow them out of the water, but Blue Sky Noise is a fantastic example of what a band can do if they learn from their mistakes, something most artists these days seem loathe to do....full text |
| Allmusic |
| Neo-progressive, emo-punk outfit Circa Survive’s major-label follow-up to 2007’s On Letting Go is (not surprisingly, considering the Atlantic emblem on the spine) the group’s most commercial effort to date. Grammy-winning producer David Bottrill (Tool, Muse, King Crimson) reigned in some of the more frenetic aspects of the band’s past, allowing more room for vocalist Anthony Green to fill with angst. Blue Sky Noise’s frontloaded singles, “Strange Terrain” and “Get Out,” are radio and action/sci-fi/horror soundtrack-ready, employing just enough edge to please long-time fans and more than enough polish to lure “Hot Topic” customers into the nearest record store/download hub. Green’s voice, which sounds like a petulant, teen mash-up of Geddy Lee and Jeremy Enigk, remains as divisive as ever, but it’s as powerful as it is whiney, especially on deeper cuts like “Fever Dreams” and “Imaginary Enemy.” Blue Sky Noise, with all of its spit-shine and modern rock luster, may not move mountains outside of its own pained and heavily marketed demographic, but as long as superhero movie franchises remain profitable, bands like Circa Survive will be there to play over the credits....full text |
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