CIRCLING FROM ABOVE

I am really excited about today's album, the new album from Styx- "Circling from Above". Early on in this series, I reviewed "The Mission" and I had intended to do "Crash of the Crown" as well but never got there (yet) before a new one is upon us. Tommy Shaw has said that the album is inspired by his and other bandmates love of "birding". The album is only on YouTube as I type this with an official release date of July 18. There are some line-up changes as producer/co-writer and de-facto member since "The Mission" Will Evankovich in now listed as an official member, and Ricky Phillips left the band in 2024 and has been replaced by Lawrence Gowan's younger brother Terry. This makes the line-up as follows: Tommy Shaw ? guitars, mandolin, banjo, vocals James Young ? guitars, vocals Will Evankovich ? guitars, vocals, occasional mandolin and keyboards Terry Gowan ? bass, stand up bass Lawrence Gowan ? keyboards, vocals Todd Sucherman ? drums, percussion Let's get to it! Track 1 - Circling From Above This is a 2 minute track that begins with a synth fading in until approximately 30 seconds when the band kicks in with lead guitar featured. Beautiful harmonies enter at just before 1 minute. The tempo is moderately slow. The synth sustains a chord as the track ends. Track 2 - Build and Destroy This is the lead off single and the only track I have heard until now. It begins with a funky 6-8 rhythm that reminds me of WYWH/Animals era Pink Floyd. The harmonies on this album are fabulous. At around 1:45 there is a nice band unison run before the bridge. Following the bridge is a nice wah-wah guitar solo. Sucherman has a great drum fill at around 2:30 or so. At around 3:15, the music gets quieter, and it reminds me a bit of Crystal Ball era Styx. I like this one better every time I hear it. Great track! Track 3 - Michigan This begins with a cool steady guitar and bass pulse with bass drum underneath. There are some almost middle- eastern chord changes at times. There is a nice slide solo at around 1:20. I live the steady groove here. There are some interesting synth sounds in the mix. Terry Gowan had a thunderous bass tone. Nice rhythm change at around 2:45 as the short (3 minute) song begins to wrap up. Cool track, wish they'd have stretched out on it a bit more though. Track 4 - King of Love This one begins straight away with harmony vocals, accompanied by keyboards. A syncopated acoustic guitar riff follows, joined by bluesy harmonica. Then JY takes over in his deep, rich, mysterious voice. Tommy takes over on the bridge, with L. Gowan joining on harmonies. The guitar solo comes next. Sucherman and T. Gowan have a very cool shuffle in the rhythm section. Another bridge comes in after the guitar solo. Excellent instrumental build up following the second bridge. Lots of changes in a 3:30 song! There is a quick tradeoff between guitar and synth licks before JY takes back over with an effect on his voice. A synth sequence that speeds up ends the track. Great song! Track 5 - It's Clear After some low-pitch tones. A harpsichord-like part plays a couple of measures before the vocals begin. Larry Gowan is taking the lead this time on the verse. They really start rockin' on the chorus! Verse 2 has harmony vocals. A synth solo follows- nice! A bridge comes in around 1:45. The way they sing the phrase "so long" reminds me of ELO on "Telephone Line". The harpsichord part returns before a big build up into another chorus. An acoustic strum part with a lead-guitar part straight out of early 60s surf-rock (think the bridge in "Pipeline" by the Chantays) on top, very cool and unexpected, brings the song to a close. Track 6 - Forgive A piano part with a ticking clock and sound effects fades in along with sound effects. The crescendo gives way to a slow stummed acoustic and Tommy begins singing, Subtle organ joins then L. Gowan sings a line, before they harmonize. Drums kick in and the bass joins. The next verse is more rhythmic. This is a beautiful ballad. There is a pause and an airplane sound effect passes by before the guitar solo happens. The chorus returns as the song comes to a close. All of the tracks thus far have been quite good, but seem very short. Track 7 - Everybody Raise a Glass After a bit of Auld Lang Syne, a jaunty, Queen-like beat kicks in and L Gowan takes lead vocals. This song is very catchy. A half-time instrumental break gives us a change in the middle. The beat resumes and the guitar feature would make Brian May proud. This is clearly a nod to Queen. The piano and harmonies at the end keep that impression alive. Could be a lost Queen song. Amazing! Track 8 - Blue Eyed Raven A solo gypsy style violin starts this one out. It sounds like a horse-cart is passing by on a cobblestone street. A speedy acoustic strumming pattern takes over and this sounds like it could be a quick tempo counterpart to the late 70s Styx tune "Boat on a River". I believe this is the track on which Terry Gowan plays stand-up bass. Bass drum and tambourine are the primary percussion. Nice orchestration in the bridge. Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grapelli would be pleased with this gypsy-jazz feel. There is a pause at 2:45 then the music begins to build with snare drum entering. We have some power chords but the vibe remains. Not sure who guests on violin, but they are great! Loved that! Track 9 - She Knows A descending synth part leads to steady piano chords, before the vocals enter. The band enters on the second verse. This has a slightly Beatle-esque vibe. Then?didn't see this coming?a clarinet solo! Yeah, this reminds me of "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite" on Sgt. Peper, especially in the middle. Great arrangement! The song ends with a slow coda. Track 10 - Ease Your Mind This one is only 50 seconds long. It begins with a beautiful arpeggiated piano part and the great harmonized voices return again. But after a verse, a short synth effect brings it to a close. Track 11 - The Things That You Said Vocals start right away on this one, with a staccato piano part supported by the rhythm section. Cool call and response vocals in the classically inspired bridge. L Gowan takes a keyboard solo, then a brief guitar solo takes us to the next verse. At 2:15, though, the dam bursts and big power chords and drums take over. It feels like we are building to something. There is a slight feel resemblance to the "She's So Heavy" part of the Beatles' "I Want You?", although the chord changes are different. Maybe it's the 6-8 meter. Killer track, but like the others, too short. Track 12 - We Lost the Wheel Again A quick acoustic riff gives us Pete Townshend vibes and the vocals that follow almost sound like Roger Daltry. They seem to be invoking a lot of classic bands on this album, in an homage kind of way. I can almost see windmill guitar strums on the power chords. The rhythm section even affect an Ox and Moon vibe. The bridge continues the feel. It's most like "Goin' Mobile". Very cool. Track 13 - Only You Can Decide Let's see what the final track brings. Synth fades in and big acoustic arpeggios set the stage for dramatic vocals. I love when the harmonies enter on the chorus. The beat is slow but powerful. Wonderful arrangement and production. As the final chorus ends a synth note fades out. The album has come to a close. OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: Great album, but NOT what I was expecting. Not sure what any of this has to do with birdwatching, but I am a music first and lyrics later kind of a guy, so, yeah, I might need to focus on the lyrics on subsequent listens. What I didn't expect was the way they evoked different bands' styles on different tracks. So the Pink Floyd vibe on "Build and Destroy" was certainly no accident! I really liked that album, but maybe it's because I have reviewed so many prog bands at this point, the songs feel super short, as not one is more than 4 minutes long. That is my main complaint. But musically Styx show their diversity with grand style. Terry Gowan impressed on bass in his debut. I'll give this a solid 4.25 out of 5. I may have to revise it after more listens. (Clicked 4, reallyu a bit better at 4.25)

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