Anthony Green - Avalon [2008]

Anthony Green's solo album. Do you really need to know anything else?

Genre: Indie
For Fans Of: Circa Survive, Good Old War, High & Driving
Contact: Myspace
Tracklisting:
1. She Loves Me So
2. Dear Child (I've Been Dying To Reach You)
3. Drugdealer
4. Stonehearted Man
5. Babygirl
6. Miracle Sun
7. Califone
8. Springtime Out The Van Window
9. Slowing Down (Long Time Coming)
10. The First Day Of Work At The Microscope Shop
11. Devils Song (This Feels Like A Nightmare)
12. Baby Girl (High & Driving EP Version)
13. The First Day Of Work At The Microscope Shop (High & Driving EP Version)
14. The Fisherman Will Be Bewildered (High & Driving EP Version)
15. Plays Ugly For Daddy (High & Driving EP Version)
16. She Loves Me So (Demo)
17. Stone Hearted Man (Demo)
18. Slowing Down (Demo)
19. Devils Song (Demo)
20. Dear Child (I've Been Dying To Reach You) (Good Old War Version)



-A

Circa Survive - Imaginary Enemy [Official Video]

The music video for Circa Survive's "Imaginary Enemy" is here and it's seriously dope. Check it out:

I want to start posting a music video every Tuesday, the Music Video of the Week, if I can find enough that are as awesome as this.

Peace,

-T

Best Concert Ever!

As I expected, the Coheed & Cambria and Circa Survive concert was incredible! To start the night off, me and my friends attended an acoustic performance and signing by Coheed at Graywhale music store. After quite a wait in line, we finally made it into the store and crowded around the stage. Coheed played a three song set, Here We Are Juggernaut, which sounded really cool acoustic, Pearl Of The Stars, and closed with Welcome Home. They sounded great acoustic, and this got me really pumped for the actual concert, which we headed over to after getting some stuff signed.

We got there just before Circa Survive started playing, and pushed up to the front. The band came onto the stage amidst a roar of applause and Anthony announced "We're Circa Survive and this song is called Get Out!" and then started jamming. It was a great opener to their set, which included some songs off their new album like Glass Arrows, Strange Terrain, Through The Desert Alone, and Imaginary Enemy, and some off their older albums like The Glorious Nosebleed, In Fear And Faith, The Great Golden Baby, Stop The Car, Living Together, and In The Morning And Amazing. They have so much energy in their onstage presence, which makes watching them really fun, plus they sound just as boss as they do on their albums, if not better. Anthony Green is a perfect entertainer, with his top notch singing, dancing across the stage, and talking to the crowd, and the entire band really showed off how truly talented they are. I would have enjoyed listening to them for at least twice as long as they played, but unfortunately their set had to end.

Then it was Coheed's turn to rock my face off, and they did just that, starting with One and The Broken. Then they proceded to play many of my favorite songs of theirs, some old some new. Off of Second Stage they played Time Consumer and Everything Evil, off of In Keeping Secrets they played the title track, Three Evils, Al The Killer, A Favor House Atlantic, and 2113, off Good Apollo they played Welcome Home, and off No World For Tomorrow they played the title track, and off Year of the Black Rainbow, they played Here We Are Juggernaut, Pearl of the Stars, Made Out Of Nothing, World of Lines, Guns of Summer, and a beautiful acoustic version of Far. Claudio and his hair did great on the vocals, with backup vocals from the crowd on every song, and all of the band put on a great performance full of mind blowing solos, a great encore, and sounded just as epic, if not more, than they do on their albums. I loved every minute of this concert and eagerly await the return of both bands. If you want to hear the best music you'll ever hear, get their albums and go see them when they come to your area! If not, why are you reading this?



-T

Circa Survive - Blue Sky Noise [2010] [MEB]

Following their 2007 sophomore attempt entitled "On Letting Go", Circa Survive went back to the studio last year and recording their next full-length record, "Blue Sky Noise". The Anthony Green-led quintet features the ex-Saosin frontman's soaring vocals and guitarists Colin Frangicetto and Brendan Ekstrom's airy and elaborate fret work riding on top of Nick Beard (bassist) and Steve Clifford's (drummer) accentual rhythm playing. Circa Survive knows their sound well and can pull it off with finesse, but unfortunately, it seems that this sound is the only one they can convey. Fortunately for the band, the music that they produce is top-notch.

The main attraction for Circa Survive is, as it is for most bands, the lead singer, and in this case Anthony Green. His high-pitched voice is unique and discernible from the over-saturated crowd of other high-pitched singers that are oh-so-available in this musical generation. His talent shines through with melodic singing and powerful screams (rare, but still there, though admittedly they are much more prevalent on his Saosin and The Sound of Animals Fighting recordings) which are both able to bend heart strings to his will.

Of course, what is a vocalist without an song to sing over? He is but a car without a road to drive on, a stream without a hill to run down? It's beauty with no direction. But thankfully this car has a highway, this stream a mountain, this vocalist a masterpiece. The guitar work of both Frangicetto and Ekstrom has become more intricate on this album, both in the individual sense and when viewed (or heard) as a whole. The lines weaving in and out between each other, sometimes one playing chords while the other leads, sometimes neither follow and both work together to create the atmospheric and ethereal sound that Circa is known for.

Blue Sky Noise takes both of these elements and perfects them, making the Circa Survive sound set in stone, the only problem is that this is their only sound. Sure, there is some variation, there's the upbeat and happy songs such as "Get Out" and "Imaginary Enemy" as well as the more airy, slowed down tunes like "Spirit of the Stairwell" and "Dyed in the Wool" but generally speaking, most songs sound similar and samey. This would be fine for a single album, but it spans all 3 full lengths and gets somewhat tiresome. As an avid Circa Survive fan it's difficult to be upset about having more of what I love, but I believe that bands need to progress and grow and Circa feels like a record on repeat.

Retracing the footsteps of previous releases, Circa Survive have created a pleasurable listening experience that exacts the formula that has been getting them praise since 2004. The vocals roar high and delve deep into the soul, the guitars relax and excite you all at once, the mood is laid back and fun, it is Circa Survive just as you've always known them. Hopefully the next release will vary more from the set standard, but if not it will still be a solid record.

Genre: Ethereal Post-Hardcore
For Fans Of: Coheed and Cambria, Anthony Green, High and Driving
Contact: Myspace
Tracklisting:
1. Strange Terrain
2. Get Out
3. Glass Arrows
4. I Felt Fine
5. Imaginary Enemy
6. Through The Desert Alone
7. Frozen Creek
8. Fever Dreams
9. Spirit Of The Stairwell
10. The Longest Mile
11. Compendium
12. Dyed In The Wool



-A