Review: Circa Survive - On Letting Go
Posted on 8 August 2007 | 6 Comments
Even after a few listens to the new album from Philadelphia’s Circa Survive, I wasn’t really sure what I was going to write here. The album is called On Letting Go and it is full of agile and atmospheric rock music that straddles the line between accessible and something a little more post-hardcore.
Perhaps because the album is out on Equal Vision Records and because Circa Survive’s vocalist Anthony Green was previously in Saosin, I think I was expecting something a little more hardcore. What I found was atmospheric nu-emo that falls into the same category as what Sparta and countless other bands are doing.
On Letting Go simply sounds like a document of a band that is still searching for their identity. There is nothing terrible about any of the songs on the record, but aside from a few tracks, nothing really stands out. Imagine stripping away a majority of the experimental bits from the first Mars Volta album or all the catchy melodies from a Coheed album and you’d be left with this. It is good, but basically unremarkable.
The guys in Circa Survive are (without question) talented musicians and On Letting Go is technically brilliant, there is really nothing to hook the listener and demand repeated listens. Perhaps you might feel differently after hearing the tracks below. I’m not hating Circa Survive here, I just think that they have the potential for so much more.
NOTE: After writing the above review, I listened to On Letting Go again, and it started growing on me a little more. Just thought I’d let you know.
MP3 | Circa Survive – Semi Constructive Criticism On Letting Go
MP3 | Circa Survive – The Difference Between Medicine And Poison Is The Dose On Letting Go
Filed Under: Album Reviews, Emo, Post Rock
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