Circa Survive Band • Page 113

That's why I loved it, it was a different direction for them, I wouldn't be happy with another album with the samish scenario (or i probably would hahh, but still, I love when they try different things as well).

 

Violent Waves is better than I remember. Its really solid all the way through and the highs are really high, does kind of drag near the end tho.

Band doesn't have a bad record.

 

Get Out fucking rips

 

I actually think the bookends of the album are the strongest portions of it. I think the album drags a bit in the middle with Phantasmagoria, Think of Me When They Sound, and Brother Song

 

Why I said near the end, Bird Song one of my favorites

 

Man, after all these years, I still love BSN so much. Glass Arrows and Through the Desert Alone still remain among my favorite Circa songs of all time, I still go buckwild for Get Out and Imaginary Enemy, I still find Strange Terrain, I Felt Free, and Dyed in the Wool to be immensely catchy. To me, this album contains so much of what I love about this band. Yes, it is certainly more accessible, but I’m not bothered by that one bit. Even then, I still think at least half this album would not have sounded out of place on OLG. There are still plenty of atmospheric songs with really interesting guitar work reminiscent of their earlier albums.

It’s crazy how this album also set the groundwork for their future albums, as you can definitely still hear elements of BSN in VW, Descensus, and The Amulet, just as you could hear elements of BSN being hinted at on Juturna and OLG. Also, Appendage is the goat EP. I never find myself wasting my time wondering what BSN would be like with some of these songs on it because BSN stands so strong on its own and so does this EP.

This album and OLG are my favorites without a doubt. Yeah, nostalgia plays a role in that, but these two albums in particular really helped me feel comfortable in my own skin as I began to struggle with depression and question my faith after being raised catholic. I just really connected with these albums in a way I haven’t quite as much with their others (not that I don’t love some of their other albums because I do very much). The band was firing on all cylinders during these album cycles and you can really tell from the quality of the content they released during these eras.

I can’t quite say the same about VW though. As I mentioned earlier, I think the album starts off fairly well in its first five songs. I think the overall quality dips a bit from there before closing with a pretty strong trio of songs. Over time, my enjoyment has waned a bit on Sharp Practice and Suitcase. While I still enjoy those songs, Sharp Practice doesn’t hold a candle to replicating the style of Get Out and Suitcase can drag a bit for me at times despite having some interesting things going on in it (that drum beat is sick).

Still, this album has its fair share of highlights, particularly Birth of the Economic Hit Man and The Lottery. I wish Battle, My Love had made the album because it would have been an incredibly easy highlight for me on here. I wish I could say the same for the other b-sides from this album though. Nobody Can Change is a pretty generic take on alt rock from them and Bad Heart is by far the worst song they’ve released to date.

BSN favorite songs:
1. Through the Desert Alone
2. Glass Arrows
3. Dyed in the Wool
4. Frozen Creek

Appendage favorite songs:
1. Lazarus
2. Stare Like You’ll Stay

VW favorite songs:
1. The Lottery
2. Birth of the Economic Hit Man
3. Blood from a Stone
4. I’ll Find a Way

Now it’s time to revisit all things Descensus

 

Ah, I thought you might have been including that and/or Blood from a Stone. My mistake

 

Those are three of my favorite Circa songs, period.

 

This is so cool hahaha

Are you gonna tell me your least favorites now are The Lottery, Birth, and Blood from a Stone?

 

Phantasmagoria, I felt free, and rites of investiture are constantly battling for my most skipped circa songs.

These new EPs are the first circa releases that I don't have anything I don't like...which has me thrilled

 

Rites is certainly towards the bottom of The Amulet for me, but I still like it and there are some parts of that song that absolutely bang

 

the verses in Bird Sounds and Blood From A Stone are so perfect. I do like those tracks but I wish I liked the whole thing as much as those verses. Feel the same about My Only Friend.

 

yeah that song is a total barn burner but it kinda doesnt fit the album for me. these things are mostly arbitrary for me but it couldve been cool to see that song as a standalone single pre album release - not on the album.

 

I was about to say Circa has no skips but I’m gonna replay Descensus in a second and I don’t always get through that really long one

 

Nesting Dolls is good

 

Not that one

 

Title track is also good

 

I don't know why, but both Always Begin & Quiet down on Descensus have never clicked. Love everything else.

Only the Sun and Sovereign are just absolute BANGERS

 

I feel exactly the same way. I think it would have been a cool b-side. I would have loved it if Dark Pools made it onto the album, or even Indra’s Net. The Amulet had really strong b-sides, Metanoia included

 

Always Begin is so groovy. I get lost in that song every time and it’s so much fun to play on drums

 

it's probably a side effect of the cover art and the production but i always think of violent waves as their space rock album. also probably the only circa album that calms me down lol

 

Such good B sides from the Amulet cycle. They all could easily be plugged into the album

 

so dumb but I hate that Spotify has different art than my vinyl(s) for VW

 

That alternate art is maybe their worst, just so busy

The original with the floating planet fits the vibe much better and is better in isolation.

Descensus is really good so far.

 

violent waves has an absolutely stunning first half. listening back now though and the production is really thin and anthony's voice sounds even thinner which as he has pointed out before, it was due to his worsening heroin use at the time, but its really noticeable to me something's not quite right with his performance