Album Reviews

Station | Russian Circles

By Dan ⋅ June 30, 2008 ⋅  Email This Post ⋅  Print This Post ⋅ Post a comment

I know I just reviewed Russian Circles’s first release, and yes I posted it only a couple days after Station (2008) was released… but now I’ve had about a month for it to grow on me. I was a little unsure about it the first few listens, but now I can say with confidence that Station is one of the best instrumental rock albums I own.

It was the few heavy sections of Enter that really sold me, and because of that I was hoping for the new album to be heavier. Initially, I was a little disappointed, but that’s what expectations do to you. The worst thing about them is that they can blind you when you don’t get exactly what you’re looking for. Listening to Station over and over helped me notice many of the subtleties of the album, as well as the fact that heavier is not always better… even though they still have a few heavy movements. Granted, I happened to pick one of their heavier moments for the audio clip. I just couldn’t help myself, that movement was just too good to not use it as an attention grabber!

I’ve yet to see these guys live, but I certainly need to. I’m really looking forward to seeing them as they seem to do a few things in their studio recordings you wouldn’t think could be pulled off live by only three people… but they do. For example, I could have sworn they were at least a four piece band until I did some research. They are indeed a three piece band and just do a great job with live samplers/loops. That’s a great skill to have and not many bands pull it off so well… or at all. Another surprise to me from Station was the new bass player. I knew of Brian Cook from These Arms Are Snakes and was completely surprised when I found out that was him on the album. Personally, I think These Arms Are Snakes is an all together different band, but Brian transitioned into Russian Circles seamlessly and did a superb job. I also just recently found out Russian Circles had opened for Tool during their 2007 UK tour… I hope Tool decides to pick them up for an American leg next time they tour.  I might then have a hard time deciding who was their best opener… them or Isis. By the way, the audio clip above is Harper Lewis. Be sure to check out their myspace page for full versions and then promptly purchase the album!

Tags: instrumental, rock