Caspian ‘On Circles’ Review: Massachusets post rockers widen their sonic palette on richly layered new album.
Massachusets post rock collective Caspian have blazed their own distinctive trail in their sub-genre, last heard on 2015’s Dust and Disquiet. And the group return with On Circles (January 24, Triple Crown Records) which adds a subtle evolution to their dense, layered sonic template.
The album kicks off with Wildblood, with a horn-inflected intro that recalls Vangelis’s Blade Runner score, before moving into Explosions In The Sky territory with oceanic soundscapes and pounding percussion.
Flowers of Light starts with a synthwave intro before merging with indie rock overtones and prog beats. It’s a sonic labyrinth that eventually leads the listener to a frenzied pummeling crescendo with serpentine guitar squalls and mandolin plucks.
Nostalgist breaks from typical post rock norms by employing a vocalist (Kyle Durfey of Piano Becomes the Teeth). It’s a lovely, stately number graced with wistful, warbled guitar arpeggios.
While it’s the most traditional rock song of the bunch, it rises far above the pedestrian thanks to its strong emotive pull, which is also evident on Circles on Circles, an acoustic charmer (also featuring Durfey), which closes the album.
On Circles is a study in dynamics and variations on a theme, from the pummeling Collapser (the heaviest song on the album) to Onsra, an ambient drenched track that offers shimmering sonics and uplift before collapsing into a noise rock climax.
But the highlight of On Circles is surely Ishmael, a cinematic number rich in layered soundscapes, augmented by cello. It’s almost country’ish at first, before building into a white noise wind tunnel, eventually climaxing into a bed of synth squiggles and acoustic guitar strums.
At only 8 tracks, On Circles never overstays its welcome, but gives aural grandeur to spare. It also proves Caspian aren’t content to rest on their laurels, or stick to their prior sonic palette. They’re an ever mutating organism, able to offer bombast and serenity in equal measure–and often on the same song.
