Organ Thing (UK) Reviews “C.O.R.E.”
Thank you so much, Organ Thing (UK) for reviewing Circuline’s fifth product, our new studio album, C.O.R.E. !!
“The better moments sound like early Kansas or maybe Camel.” Thank you for the kind words!
Sea of Tranquility Gives “CircuLive::NewView” 4-Star Review
Thank you so much, Jon Neudorf and Steven Reid of Sea of Tranquility, for both reviewing CircuLive::NewView !!
Here is Jon Neudorf’s review:
“Hailing from New York, Circuline has been around since 2014 and released their debut album Return in 2015, followed by Counterpoint in 2016 of which I was mightily impressed as it made my top twenty-five of that year.
Their live disc titled Circulive �” New View captures their 2017 performance at ProgStock, recorded at the Union County Performing Art Center in New Jersey. The four panel digipack includes a CD, DVD, and Blu-ray.
This is an excellent performance from the band and includes tracks from their first two albums. The concert opens with the instrumental “Erosion”, a moody and fairly complex piece featuring catchy riff progressions and outstanding keyboards. “One Wish” is a gentler piece at the beginning featuring clean guitar and keyboards and the fine vocals of Natalie Brown. It’s quite a catchy number and reveals the band in fine form especially when they take an unexpected turn into tight progressive metal. All members bring on the heat with scintillating musicianship. The band has some fun with “Piano Challenge”, featuring a head to head dual between the drummer and keyboardist. Both are excellent players and when drums and guitar join in on the fun the band really starts to cook. The somewhat moody “Hollow” finds these musicians exploring darker territory, featuring more fine guitar from Alek Darson.
I really cannot say enough of the talent displayed in this excellent set. Quirky arrangements, scintillating pyrotechnics, and a flair for the dramatic take these tunes off the beaten path as Circuline definitely have their own style and sound. I highly recommend you give this relatively underrated band a spin and discover Circuline for yourself.
The Players:
Andrew Colyer (keyboards, vocals, percussion)
Darin Brannon (drums, keyboards)
Natalie Brown (lead vocals, percussion)
Willian “Billy” Spillane (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, percussion)
Joel Simches (bass, bass pedals, drums, acoustic guitar)
Alek Darson (lead and rhythm guitars)
My Score: FOUR STARS”
~
THERE ARE ACTUALLY TWO REVIEWS ON THIS PAGE!! ONE DUDE 3 STARS, ONE DUDE 4 STARS – TYPES GOOD STUFF FROM THE REVIEW HERE…..
https://www.seaoftranquility.org/reviews.php?op=showcontent&id=22626
https://www.seaoftranquility.org/reviews.php?op=showcontent&id=22626
Netherlands’ Background Magazine Gives Great Review for “CircuLive::NewView”
Thank you so much to Background Magazine’s Henri Strik and Tracy van Os van den Abeelen, for this FANTASTIC review! We are reprinting it here IN FULL, and if you want to read it on their website, the link is included at the bottom of this post. 😀
~
For many lovers of progressive rock living in the USA is Circuline a rather well known name. However for those living on the other side of the Atlantic ocean this name doesn’t ring any bells for most of them. They don’t know that they started early 2014 and released already two studio albums. Namely Return (2015) and Counterpoint (2016). This sextet from New York occasionally does some live performance in their country and also wants to climb the stage in Europe. But as with many bands from North or South America it is rather difficult to reach their audience outside their home country and see them face to face. Therefore it is sometimes a good way to come with a live release. This also occurs for Circuline. Therefore they decide to come up with a second live release in their career after putting out Circulive::Majestik back in 2018. So it’s now time to welcome Circulive: New View. It’s a release which is without any doubt a great bundle to own. Why? Because it brings out the audio and video on CD, DVD and Blu-ray in one package. How cool is that!
New View was recorded at the ProgStock Festival October 14th in 2017. It was done in a line up consisting of Andrew Colyer (keyboards / vocals / percussion), Darin Brannon (drums / keyboards), Natalie Brown (lead vocals / percussion), William Spillane (lead vocals / rhythm guitar / percussion), Joel Simches (bass / bass pedals / drums / acoustic guitar) and Alek Darson (lead and rhythm guitars).
The whole release is rather entertaining and gives us a cross-section of their already mentioned two studio albums. There is also one composition written by Sound of Contact, namely Pale Blue Dot. A great version if I may say so. Moreover we have the great Piano Challenge between Andrew Colyer and Darin Brannon. A medley with scraps of classical music as well as excerpts of Tarkus (ELP) and Awaken (Yes). Also nice is The Drum Feature that follows the soundscape-like Forbidden Planet. Instead of just letting the drummer go behind his kit on his percussion, everyone taps, drums or plays on a percussion instrument. Nice for variety and as a show element and is something which Gentle Giant and Lazuli have also done on stage.
For me it is the instrumental parts such as in Fallout Shelter, Forbidden Planet and Stereotypes that appeal to me very much because everyone has mastered their instrument well and radiates pleasure playing. In addition to the pointed but delightful guitar solos, the classical piano playing and the flashy bass playing on the Rickenbacker are particularly striking. Off course it doesn’t mean that the songs in which the two singers are included are the worst compositions done. Both singers have strong voices and add really something to the band.
All in all you can say that the keyboards stand out, and you can tell who is holding the strings here. But the guitar work is not neglected either and supported by an excellent rhythm group.
The DVD contains the same material as the CD, but the Blu-ray offers additional video content: concert with audio commentary, backstage and behind the scenes material, official videos, onstage photo slide show and concert poster slide show. So the fan gets a lot of material here and will be thrilled.
In the end Circuline offers the fan the best-off par excellence but also the perfect live album which will obviously delight all the followers of the group but which will also serve as a starting point for all those who want to discover this great American band. This is a real must for fans of Glass Hammer, Renaissance, Magenta and Yes! And of course for lovers of progressive rock in general! Well done indeed! Next time please get to the other side of the Atlantic!!!
**** Henri Strik (edited by Tracy van Os van den Abeelen)
~
https://www.backgroundmagazine.nl/CDreviews/CirculineCirculiveNewView.html
Progessor Gives “CircuLive::NewView” 5-Star Review
Thank you so much, Progressor (Uzbekistan) and Kev Rowland, for giving CircuLive::NewView a 5-Star-Review!!
Here is the entire review, reprinted in full:
Released last year, this triple CD/DVD/Blu-ray captures Circuline at 2017’s ProgStock Festival.
I was sent this as an audio download to review, but I also ended up with a physical copy and I am so glad I did, as seeing the full package is quite something. As well as the digipak containing the discs and some basic information, my copy came with a full colour glossy 28 page A4 programme which contains loads of photos, information about the history of the band, details of everyone who ever played with them, why certain changes were made in line-up, and so much more.
Although I have been playing the audio a great deal recently in time for the review, I actually first played the Blu-ray with the audio commentary turned on, and it is exactly what it purports to be, various band members talking about the show, why certain pieces were played, the history and so much more. I have always enjoyed these as they never cease to add so much more to the band, providing a far more rounded view to outsiders like me, and that is again the case here.
It was recorded at ProgStock, so it is a given that the camerawork and audio quality are first rate, and by 2017 they had released two albums (I have not heard the second, need to rectify that) and had been touring them hard both in America and the UK. Additionally, much of the band had originally worked together as a covers group playing prog classics (keep an ear out for bits and pieces which make their way into this set unannounced), so they all know what they are doing and were confident in their own abilities and knowing the audience would be very much on their side.
The album is as one would expect from a prog band: they are able to replicate onstage the huge complexity of their music while also taking it to another level. It is multi-layered, multi-faceted, yet always immediate, allowing the listener to get deep inside the music the very first time of playing it. The PR company describes the band as “two theatrical lead vocalists, a keyboard player from Juilliard, a versatile rock virtuoso on guitar, a zany bass player from another galaxy, and a drummer with progressive rock in his DNA.” That does not really give them the kudos they deserve, for a wonderfully entertaining and enjoyable set.
There are very few international acts (even in normal times), and even less prog acts (stand up Yes and Steve Hackett) who make it down all the way to Aotearoa, so I know the likelihood of ever seeing Circuline in concert is very small indeed. However, this wonderful set allows me to play the concert on a big screen and revel in a very professional and exciting crossover commercial progressive rock band who are a sheer delight from the beginning to the end.
Five Stars (out of six).”
Published May 2021
http://www.progressor.net/
http://www.progressor.net/review/circuline_2020.html
Thank you so much, Kev Rowland and Progressor online!
~
Music in Belgium Gives 4-Star Review to “CircuLive::NewView”
Thank you so much, MUSIC IN BELGIUM and reviewer Philippe Thirionet, for this fantastic 4-Star (out of five) review! We’re reproducing the entire article in English, via Google Translate, below.
It is indeed an ultra complete Live box set that is given to us by the New York group Circuline which since 2015 has been navigating between progressive rock, cinematic rock or even crossover-prog and classic-rock with here near of 13 compositions available in 3 distinct formats. So let’s dive into this imposing preciousness with first of all the analysis of the CD opening on an intro then, the music of the group begins with first of all a nice bass sound that serves as a door to ‘entry to a rather classic rock-progressive with also modern and atmospheric synths which, offer a very melodic note to American rock … a progressive in fact where the synths twirl sometimes recalling the great Genesis . Between the songs it’s Natalie Brown who thanks the audience and suggests the songs that will be played. But enough talk, I therefore offer you two first ‘promo-clips’ to listen to, to discover the group and its music:
Where we perceive a rock both tinged with folk, progressive but also classic-rock since here, we find acoustic passages like certain more neo-classical moments, when the piano is heard. Overall this is a music that represents well it seems to me an accessible and multifaceted rock because obviously, the group is able to tack between genres while keeping in focus the will to build a Classic-rock where we feel the imprint of the seventies via the sound of the organs without counting, neo-classical or progressive scents see heavier passages come to flesh out the sound content of our Americans. And I have not yet talked about the vocal part where, the song of Natalie is regularly added to choirs carried by one or the other protagonist who accompanies the beautiful, song and vocal harmonies perfectly complementing the musical picture of this concert given in fact in 2017! In fact you could find other promotional extracts on YouTube but what I offer you is a complete composition resulting from this stage performance:
This will allow you on the one hand to see the impressive material on stage (you will be able to see it again of course when the DVD is broadcast) and on the other hand, a complete performance next to a song dating from 2016 with also beautiful instrumental passages! The whole album is in the image of a colorful performance where each protagonist is in his place, masters his subject and therefore offers a musical game and / or a vocal work without reproach while remaining in a rather classic niche. rock or progressive.
Other extracts are of course available, I offer you one by the way, with one of the last compositions of the concert captured for the occasion:
Clean and well done work that does not suffer from any false note, but let’s move on to the DVD which obviously offers us an additional dimension with the image of the scenic performance which shows us even better all the logistics on stage but especially all the professionalism developed by the whole group. The sound-image capture is impeccable and therefore worthy of a quality DVD, the same of course for the Blu-Ray version which perfectly complements a most complete and successful box set!
In the end Circuline offers the fan the best-off par excellence but also the perfect ‘Live’ album which will obviously delight all the followers of the group but which also, will serve as a starting point for all those who want to discover the American formation. In terms of classic-rock, classic progressive and American rock, this is a must!
This article was originally posted online on November 22nd, 2020:
Hudson Valley Chronogram Reviews “CircuLive::NewView”
Thank you so much, Chronogram Magazine and reviewer Haviland S. Nichols, for the excellent review of CircuLive::NewView!
“Red Hook based Circuline melds new-breed boldness with classic prog rock on this CD/DVD/Blu-Ray digipak. Echoing dynamic masters King Crimson, Yes, and Genesis, this tour de force maintains a flamboyant flavor for the 21st century. Recorded at the first International ProgStock Festival, the gig kicks off with stunning dissonance from bombastic keyboardists/percussionists Andrew Colyer and Darin Brannon, zigzagging between calm and chaos. “Piano Challenge” showcases the two as they duel center stage in a glowing game where everyone wins. Powerhouse Natalie Brown is a refreshing change in a traditionally male-dominated vocal arena. Guitarist/vocalist William “Billy” Spillane, bassist/drummer Joel Simches, and guitarist/percussionist Alek Daron round things out, with each soloist dazzling listeners in turn. CircuLive may be best enjoyed by those familiar with their studio recordings, but in an age devoid of live performances, this weighted release is a clever strategy to welcome fans of cinematic rock and exhilerating soundscapes.”
This article was also originally posted online on January 1st, 2021: https://www.chronogram.com/hudsonvalley/album-review-circuline-circulive-new-view/Content?oid=12037109