Circa Survive - The Amulet (September 22, 2017) Album • Page 100

Video: A Baeble NEXT Session With Circa Survive - Baeble Music

 

I guess we know what the VIP set is gonna be. :)

But seriously that was great. I really feel like this bad has gotten back into their groove with the last two albums.

They have gotten thru both the major label and full indie hurdles. Seems like they can just be themselves now.

Hope they keep it up. Fucking adore the amulet

 

Anthony has been on a roll. That Saosin album was fucking fantastic.

 

I've never been a huge fan of the band aside from BSN, and probably haven't listened to the albums more than once so I'm doing a full discography listen at work today. Wish me luck

 

I wish I could experience this band for the first time again. Hope you have good headphones.

 

I'm just going to keep updating this post throughout the day...but thanks for the inspiration for this!

Jurturna
- Holding Someone's Hair Back is such a great opener, really sets the tone for the rest of the record
- Love the dancey-ness of the guitars in the Glorius Nosebleed
- the shift in the second half of In Fear and Faith is crazy, drumming is stellar here
- For a debut, its great how fully realized these songs are...they had a very specific vision of what band they want to be and were able to carry that thread all the way through to the Amulet
- Ooooh Oh, Hello comes in at the perfect time in this album. So far the pacing of this album has been great
- Meet Me in Montauk is...interesting.

On Letting Go
- Getting right to the point with the opener...alrighty then
- Anthony's vocals seem much more forward in the mix, and I'm not sure if I like it more than Jurturna
- Just from the first two tracks this seems much more direct in terms of how its more dependent on guitar licks, seems like they put more of a focus on trying to make the guitar lines pop out instead of creating texture
- Was The Difference Between Medicine and the Poison the biggest song from this cycle? Definitely harkens back to the Juturna sound more than anything else so far. The part after the chorus is crazy good, and possibly my favorite CS moment thus far.
- The groovy movement at the end of Mandala is dopeee
- On Semi-constructive Criticism - This album is much more in the vein of the post-hardcore at the time than Jurturna, so I'm not surprised that this is their most revered release (from my understanding). And it deserves it...its pretty interesting and is much more dynamic than Jurturna
- Kind of losing me a bit towards the end of this album - from Carry us Away to Close Your Eyes
- Your Friends is a fantastic closer, and really feels like it summarizes everything fantastic about the album in a 5 1/2 bite.

As of now, I think I enjoyed OLG more than Jurturna, but they're both pretty great! I'm not sure why I never caught onto OLG when I was more into the genre, its possible that it was too "slow" for my liking, so I never appreciated it for the intricacies. Glad I went back to listen to these two albums today...nice to finally be able to say really enjoyed these two.

Blue Sky Noise
This is one of my favorite albums, so I'm not going to say much about this one. Mostly, I think Anthony's melodies on this one really stand out and he really excelled within the "alternative rock" styling more than any of their other releases, but I understand how people were disappointed with this. It was a huge shift in sound from OLG, and on the surface, sounds much more simple, but they really put a focus on the melodies, and peeling back the layers of the song really helps moments stand out to me more.
- The movement into the chorus on Strange Terrain just blew me away the first time I heard it, and it still does. It really nails that huge, arena rock sound without sounding forced at all. Its one of the openers that I couldn't leave for a while and just repeated non-stop. It took me a while to get into the rest of the album.
- Still noted that the guitar work in Get Out is still absolutely monstrous
- I know some people don't like I Felt Free, but damn is it a gorgeous song
- Damn I forgot how amazing Through the Desert Alone is. Its crazy how the band was able to authentically create arena rock songs that would sound incredible at a festival or in an amphitheater here. The entire band is firing on all cylinders on this song, and I love that every member gets a moment to shine
- Definitely less consistent than OLG and Jurturna. I love this album, but the stretch from Fever Dreams to The Long Mile can definitely put a strain on certain listeners since its much more straightforward than the first half of the album.
- Compendium into Dyed into the Wool is, and probably will always be, my favorite thing by the band. I absolutely adore how ethereal the album sounds, and really wish that they had more straight-forward songs that sounded like that. I remember listening to those two songs on repeat for a while thinking that that was the future of the band. I'm excited to listen to the Amulet again because I think they were able to recapture some of the more ethereal sounds on that album.

Violent Waves
Ahhhh, the ever-famous "career misstep". Leggo. I remember trying many, many times trying to get into this. And even after that, this still feels like a first listen lol
- The "nothing is sacred" line is cool!
- Seems like the band was really trying hard to tap back into the more atmospheric aspects of their sound with this album. The first three songs are pretty great so far. I'm interested to see what the reception of this album would have been if they went straight from OLG to this rather than OLG->BSN->VW
- Yup, they're losing me starting at My Only Friend, and beyond. Its a very weirdly stale...they're trying a lot of different things here, and I actually enjoy the production on this album, but these songs are just leaving something something to be desired.
So, I enjoyed VW. "Think of Me..." was pretty cool, and this is a much more "laid-back" album than I remember. The least immediate of the records so far, but that's definitely not a bad thing...it just means that it needs more listens to properly digest, especially the back half. Less things stand out on this album, but its a lot more lush and atmospherically intricate than their previous albums. I can see me growing to really appreciate the second half this fall. Definitely an album you have to be in a specific mood for than their other albums.

Descensus
- Man I forgot how much I loved Schema when it first was released
- Wow I really love Always Begin. One of the better choruses from Anthony. Not sure if I'm enjoying the production on this album too much though...even though I generally enjoy Yip's production.
- Nesting Dolls is incredible, definitely a headphones song
- That little guitar line in Phantom in the background is crazy good
- Decensus is a good closer, if a little too long.
Before heading into the Amulet, I must say that I'm surprised by how much I enjoyed the Amulet. Similar to what other people said, as of now, I'd probably rate the album in two tiers:
BSN | OLG | Decensus
Jurturna | VW
Overall, I think I really enjoy the more straightforward, groovier aspects of the band more than the atmospheric moments, but that's not to say that they don't do them well. Its still fantastic to hear the consistency of the band throughout every album so far, and there hasn't been a song I flat out hated.

The Amulet
- This band kills it on the openers game. Love the ending of Lustration...gorgeous
- Stay into Rites

 

VW is not a misstep. Some of their best songs. I still love it as a whole as well.

 

I think in the context of their discography, VW is a misstep. But it is still better than most bands for me. So not really a negative

 

I like Violent Waves more than Juturna, Descensus, and maybe The Amulet. And I'd probably say it's tied with On Letting Go (if that's too much of a cop out, it might very slightly edge that one out too. haha). IDK. I just really connect with that album. Fight me

 

no fighting here...but some may say.... "truly you are lost"

 

Currently I find this band to be somewhat tier'd for me

Favorite:
Blue Sky

Next Favs:
Juturna, Inuit Sessions, On Letting Go, Appendage EP

3rd Tier:
Violent Waves & Descensus

Least fav:
The Amulet

 

That's one reason I connect with it! Damn, even on a literal level. When I got the album I would play it while I was getting lost in Skyrim. haha

 

I believe the line is "nothing is sacred"

 

Meandering trying to find your only friend. Instead starting another meaningless side quest. I feel ya.

 

Idk if by the time you get to the new album at the end after having to trudge though the entire discog, you'll be receptive or numb.?

You're packing it in there for sure and you're likely going to feel that some material is a lot weaker than the rest across their discog esp when it all hits you at once I think.

 

I'm taking a little break before hitting Decencus and the Amulet, but I think each album has had a very distinct thing going for it, which is making it more palpable than I expected. I was worried that I was going to be "numb" to the later material, but it hasn't been that way so far!

 

Finally reading the lyrics while listening to the vinyl.

I though in Stay he was saying...something like an expert in pain, so let’s make it rain.

He instead is saying...”,so let’s make believe”.

Not sure which one I like more. But def changes the meaning of the chorus for me. Ha

 

i knew it was make believe but i like make it rain way more haha

 

The Hex prob has my favorite lyrics so far. Slowly climbing into being one of my fav AG songs.

 

The outro to The Amulet has become one of my favorite moments in the album. I get so hyped when it kicks in, I really hope they play it live. Gonna scream my lungs out to it

 

That chorus is one of my favourite vocal melodies on the album. So sweet and soothing.

 

Overall I'm really pleased with how well this album is sitting. I've feared this band has been on a decline over the last 6-7 years but this album cycle really reinvigorated my love for them. The Amulet is probably middle of the pack for me - Juturna and OLG are unassailable, always will be - but this is really strong. I'm particularly drawn to the raunchier songs, which seems to be an unpopular opinion round here?

The lyrics from the absolutely monstrous Rites bridge really hit me on the drive home from work today, connected in a way I was really needing.

 

Does anyone else listen to an album in full a dozen or so times before feeling comfortable listening to individual tracks? Like you don't wanna give any songs any special attention until you've properly familiarized yourself with all of it?

Because I've listened to this album close to 70 times and I'm still not there yet. Am I weird? I am weird.

 

I rarely listen to an album twice in the same week, much less 70 times in a month

 

i listen to this album at least once a week, which is extremely unusual for me. they did a wonderful job