COUNTERPOINT

After their thrilling 2015 debut "Return", Circuline wasted little time in returning (excuse the pun) with another chapter in their soon-to-be glorious career, a near future where more prog fans worldwide will hook up to this brilliant prog band. These seasoned musicians are a quite a crew, understanding the liberating musical panorama offered by progressive rock, with so many styles to choose from and incorporate them into something entirely unique yet comfortably prog. At this level of their craft, "Counterpoint" is not in any way an improvement over their debut but rather a consolidation of their musicianship, their unending quest is to entertain and delight by involving always zesty slivers of genius. This time around the core group of the incendiary Andrew Colyer on keys, drum maestro Darren Brannon and the dynamic vocal duo of Billy Spillane and Natalie Browne overcome the departure of Matt Dorsey on bass (though he still guests on guitar here) and guitarist extraordinaire Bill Shannon by incorporating new bassist Paul Ranieri of Shadow Eden as well as inviting a cast of brilliant characters on guitars: namely Doug Ott of Enchant, Alan Shikoh of Glass Hammer, Stan Whitaker (Happy the Man and Oblivion Sun) , the thrilling Ryche Chlanda of Fireballet and Renaissance fame, Randy McStine (The Fringe) and Alek Darson (Fright Pig).

On this release, the band decides to get into fleshing out further instrumentally their compositions, a great idea in lieu of the fact that some pieces on "Return" begged for continuance, the stunning "Soleil Noir" in particular left me hungering for more. There is also a noticeable depth to the sonic palette that thickens the lavish symphonics and highlights the contrasts between softer and harder passages. Case in point, the opener "New Day" blends straight into "Who I Am", forming a mini-suite that combines into nearly 14 minutes of progressive diversity. Conjuring various effects from a NASA website of space sounds, Randy McStine layers five guitar tracks to thicken the sauce while Ranieri does some low end magic on his bass. Dishevelling drum flattery adorns the bliss out space overture to great effect. The second is a classically arranged prog-rock extravaganza, clocking in over 8 minutes and featuring Enchant's Doug Ott on the axe. Nimble piano leads the question initially, blooming into a more typical prog workout, where bombastic riffs and tectonic drumming settle down to rule and govern accordingly. The band considers themselves as 'cinematographic prog', which is actually a correct self-assessment, the dual vocals are immediately impactful, taking the arrangement into storyland, with meaningful lyrical content and expert vocal delivery. The exit guitar solo is a whirlwind of notes and ecstasies.

The thrilling "Forbidden Planet" is a musical tribute to the famous sci-fi classic, featuring the incredible Leslie Nielsen, Roby the Robot and a masterful evil performance by Walter Pidgeon that stands the test of time. Here, the synthesizers carve out another space-rock adventure, a perfect platform for Bill Spillane to exalt on his cosmic microphone, delectable choir work in tow (Natalie does some real cool wailing) and finished up with manic electric guitar work from Alek Darson that sizzles amid the symphonic asteroids.

The grandiloquent epic "Hollow" is a 10 minute romp that will blow the lid off your earphone-dominated head, incorporating multiple passages with mega thrills, truly captivating soloing and jaw-dropping vocalizations. Colyer's piano takes the front stage again, showing off his indisputable talents and reminding me a lot of Eddie Jobson's piano work with Curved Air, Natalie yanking the mike to her lips and beginning her painful lament. The effortless rhythmic work is complex, bruising and extremely clever. 'A call to action, a new distraction' warbles Spillane convincingly, amid a crest of sonic dynamics that elevate the piece to new heights, a contemplative mid-section that skirts the edges of ambient only to let Darson sparkle once again with inventive passages, rekindling the earlier raging fire. A sensational track.

The diminutive but effective "Erosion" adds more soundtrack-like depth, in a more subtle manner, blending electronic sweeps and a sense of crushing gloom. Colyer is having fun being creative with his keys. Changing the pace on a dime and crashing a champagne bottle on its bow, "Nautilus" floats off with a fluid bass guitar that may recall the legendary Mick Karn, wobbly and liquid bass bubbles that set the sail to an underwater adventure to the North Prog pole , slick little nods to Star Trek (yeah, my trusted sonar picked that bleep up), launching depth charge-like bashing from the drums, roiling organ crests, a slippery synth solo, waves of stormy guitars, courtesy of Ryche Chlanda and windswept vocal work of the highest order. The dual voices achieve another level of performance, conclusive and hyper professional. Another total scorcher.

The hard jazz of "Stay" (subtitled Peter Frankenstan) features some dervish pyrotechnics from the manic mind and fingers of Stan Whitaker, a truly Happy Man, there is also a distinct Peter Gabriel vibe (I was stunned to hear recently that Happy the man were supposed to start out as Gabriel's backing band , early in the Genesis man's solo career). The drums are straight out of the Jerry Marotta school of binary cymbal-less pounding, sounding very modern, even futuristic. Natalie sings like there is no tomorrow.

There is an eerie piano intro to "Inception", another movie soundtrackish concoction that has a definite Steve Wilson feel to it, a grandiose and dense, mellotron-laden osmosis of sound and fury, deeply disturbing and rhythmically despondent. The vocal work is once again exemplary, spooky choirs notwithstanding, and as Natalie starts her intense wailing, guitarist Alan Shikoh of Glass Hammer adds some rhythm guitar while new guitarist Beledo peels off a tumultuous guitar pirouette that sets the piece to bed.

Yes the "Summit" is reached with another grandiose finale, a monster track that slams in the final nails in the coffin of doubt about this band's future legacy. Matt Dorsey (Sound of Contact, Kerzner) lays down some dreamy guitar escalades that shuffle between the rhythmic pulse, steered by drummer extraordinaire Brannon doing his best Pierre Moerlen (Gong) imitation. Breezy and airy on the fret board, the arrangement features Andrew on lead vocals, finding free hands to twiddle his synths with obvious trepidation. The mid-section unexpectedly features a dissonant tympani and piano dance that is straight out of a fusion of melody and rhythm. Definitely Downwind and Time is the Key.

Circuline has arrived, time for Progland to embrace them wholeheartedly. Easily one of the very best US bands in recent memory, I look already forward to their next masterpiece.

5 Kiosk tips

Like the other American prog rock band, 3RD Degree, that had requested me to review their album, Circuline is short on releases but long on experience. Some of its lineup have already been performing for 25-30 years. Unfortunately, it shows.

The musicianship is consistently top notch, often outstanding. The music is also very authentically prog; it's not pop/rock with a few time signature changes thrown in in a couple of tracks. The problem, from my perspective, is not a lot of it sounds very new.

Maybe the problem is me as I am almost heretical when it comes to retro-prog (and my idea of retro-prog is a little different from what is commonly understood; if it's Queensryche-like and it's 2016, it's still retro prog to me). From the beginning, I felt like I had been transported to the beginnings of prog metal in the mid-late 80s. When bright guitar leads, heavily influenced by the ace shredders that were a huge part of that decade's rock music, abounded. When powerful, pounding drums were favoured over the busy subtlety of the 70s. Case in point: the shred-coda of Hollow, the album's obligatory 10 minute plus mini epic.

It is certainly technically very impressive but at this point, it takes a lot for this kind of music to draw me in (colour me jaded but it is what it is). Outstanding vocals might help. I don't really hear that on this album with all due respect to Billy Spillane's resume. The vocals are competent and fairly typical of what I'd expect to hear on a prog album, nothing more, nothing less.

It would be one thing if this material was all put together in the 80s and it never left the nest until now. Perhaps, that was the case too; but the band describe themselves as modern prog. Maybe to some extent it is an accurate description given that a lot of modern prog pays homage to sounds from bygone eras. But when I hear the word modern, I expect a little more 21st century. This album is not completely devoid of 21st century sounds but you have to kind of search for them in the midst of largely 80s sounding music (including 80s keyboard tones, I kid you not).

Although much of the above may sound harsh, I did enjoy listening to the album while it lasted. It's just not engrossing enough for me to return for more listens. There are moments of brilliance, like a piano break in Hollow just before the guitar shred ending. As said before, this is one talented, accomplished band and at times there is a spark that shines bright and makes me go wow. I just wish I had had more of these wow moments.

I am tempted to go with four stars just to reward the excellence in musicianship and production (the recording sounds beautiful). But from a prog perspective, it's not excellent, at least not as a studio album. Would I love hearing this live in a concert? Without a doubt. So, three stars it will have to be but a strong three star effort.

Circuline's latest album appears to be destined to be near the top of my list of the best albums of 2016. The strength of their songwriting and performance, along with a mastery of a number of prog styles has kept this disc in heavy rotation in my CD player for months now.

The album features many guest guitarists, most notable, to me at least, are Stanley Whitaker From Happy The Man, Doug Ott from Enchant, and Kamran Alan Shikoh from Glass Hammer, who all rise to the occasion on their tracks.

Opening with "New Day", a sort of post rock guitar blast, with Apollo 11 astronaut snippets (not the most original concept, I know), the album begins with a hint of the energy and excitement to come.

The second track, "Who I Am", veers toward the area prog sound, sort of like a blend of Spock's Beard and Styx (the good Styx, not the later, poppy Styx). And it works.

So we get a ballad, "Forbidden Planet", lifted by a great Alek Darson (of Fright Pig) guitar solo, some more straight ahead tracks, like "Nautilus", with a beautiful slinky bass line, a riff in the verses that reminds me a bit of the Allman Brothers' "Midnight Rider", and a nod to one of my all time favorite TV shows, a couple of short experimental tracks, and two powerful prog epics, "Hollow" and "Summit", the highlights of the album.

As I mentioned earlier, the instument performances are exceptional. My only (slight) criticism is the vocalist Billy Spillane, who sounds, when singing alone, slightly off, but I just can't pinpoint what is off - his melodies don't quite mesh with the music. Conversely, when he blends with the other lead vocalist, Natalie Brown, the results are outstanding.

This 2016 album was the second release from Circuline, and as of 2022 their most recent studio effort, although there have been some live releases and of course keyboard player Andrew Colyer has been working with Robert Berry in 3.2. Coming to this album fresh, one can hear just why Andrew was invited to take part in that band given he is so obviously influenced by Keith Emerson, and there are times when Circuline do come across as a more commercial outfit than ELP but following in similar veins, which given they originated out of a covers band is perhaps not that surprising. However, there is a much stronger focus on vocals and vocal harmonies which definitely takes the music in a different direction. The line-up at the time was Andrew Colyer (keyboards, vocals), Billy Spillane (lead vocals, guitars), Darin Brannon (drums, percussion), Natalie Brown (lead vocals), Paul Ranieri (bass, bass pedals) and Beledo (guitars) yet they also felt the need to bring in additional guitarists for different numbers so there are also appearances by Randy McStine (Lo-Fi Resistance), Matt Dorsey (Sound of Contact), Doug Ott (Enchant), Stanley Whitaker (Oblivion Sun), Ryche Chlandra (Flying Dreams), Kamran Alan Shikoh (Glass Hammer) and Alek Darson (Fright Pig) (on the rear cover of the CD they not only credit the guitarists but also state which bands they are in, which is nice).

The result of all these musicians is an album which is quite bombastic, full of sound and even double-tracked drums (listen to "Forbidden Planet" where that works incredibly well). The keyboards have a major part to play, while with all those guitars it is a heavy album in some places, yet the arrangements are key with plenty of space and lots of room to move. The vocals are superb, with the two lead singers swapping roles and harmonising with the other when the time is right, and the overall impact is that of music which is all-encompassing and wrapping around the listener, very strongly Seventies influenced, and I can imagine myself as a teenager sat on my bed playing this while looking at the album artwork and lyrics.

Songs such as "Hollow" seem to have everything, with piano runs, great vocals, over the top guitars, and a knowledge that here is a band who are always in total control. For those who have somehow missed out on Circuline then that is a wrong which must be righted and let us hope there is a new studio album coming soon.