It seems comfortably fitting that this album has been released by the Suicide Squeeze label, based as it is in Seattle. While certainly not grunge-retro, Geneva is undoubtedly informed by some of the less pop oriented outfits that helped place Seattle on the musical map. I’m thinking of artists such as Soundgarden, Alice In Chains, maybe even Pearl Jam – those kinds of more metal based and polished grunge types. The title track is the most obvious example of this with its guitar bottom end playing a heavy 8 note riff all the while, the snare holding down a constant thwack between frequent 16th note tom rolls and heavily compressed cymbal wash.
But Russian Circles are not actually grunge. There’s the influence of more recent forms of post-rock and math-rock. That they operate without vocals also removes notions of angst from their otherwise heavy sound. It’s actually the moments with metal leanings which end up sounding weakest, though, and these are generally placed at the front of the album. They don’t have the gutteral extremety of, say, Sunn O))) so end up in a kind of everyman metal cliché realm. By the third track, ‘Melee’, however, a grander mood is rolled out, complete with violin and cello underscore. The track meanders through a range of sideturns. The drumming is still brutal, but the guitar and bass explore more textural zones to much greater effect. However, attention is constantly drawn away from the music to the playing and for great parts of the album, it is hard to surrender to the music. Instead, I find myself constantly cajoled by the technique of each instrument, the sum trying hard but never lifting above the parts.
The final two tracks, ‘When The Mountain Comes To Muhammad’ and ‘Philos’, thankfully, then, go a long way to making the entire album worthwhile. They flow fairly seamlessly into each other and provide the highlights of the album. Textures constantly move, time signatures subtly shift, and beautiful orchestral interludes break up moments of stunning intensity and others of noisy ambience. In these final 18 minutes, I am no longer hearing individuals ply their skills, but I am hearing instruments meshing in the service of music. It’s a significant difference from the earlier parts of the album and show that, when Russian Circles get it right, the music they can make is absolutely ecstatic.
Adrian Elmer
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