Chicago's hardest rocking instrumentalists strike again
After wowing instrumental die-hards and casual listeners alike with their 2006 LP Enter, the Chicago-based ensemble known as Russian Circles established themselves as one of the genre’s most well-known acts. With the departure of bassist Colin DeKuiper in late 2007, the remaining two members Mike Sullivan and Dave Turncrantz were faced with the challenge of carrying the band forward as a duo—a daunting task which they undoubtedly met with the greatest of effort. Now, the band is back again wielding Station, a new full-length album that is more than worth talking about.
In terms of style, Russian Circles haven’t changed a whole lot on Station with regard to their previous album, though there is a sense that the band has matured to some extent. Tight percussion, mesmerizing guitar loops and chugging riffs still dominate the mix, but are delivered with greater patience and care. Whereas 2006’s Enter acted more like a collection of independent tracks, the songs on Station flow together quite nicely, making the album sound more like one cohesive entity. This time around, the band seems more comfortable taking their time to let each song develop, in contrast to the more rushed and/or formulaic feeling of Enter.
Comparisons aside, what really keeps Russian Circles alive and well on Station is the amazing talent exhibited by Sullivan (guitar) and Turncrantz (drums). While most groups in the genre make use of two, three, or more guitars, Sullivan handles the duty alone, masterfully combining loop samples, volume swells and hard-rocking riffage to create a presence that is far from modest. Turncrantz adds yet another crucial component of the band’s sound, conjuring up intricate and creative percussion that far exceeds anything his genre-peers could dream of doing. Sick and tired of the snare-heavy, drummer-boy style that plagues most “post-rock” drummers? Russian Circles is for you.
While the band’s ability to create massive sounds with so few instruments is quite impressive, I would be lying to say that they are without shortcomings. Because they lack the luxury of multiple guitars for creating dense melodic layers, the band relies heavily on loop samples to fill in the gaps—a technique that gives them a unique signature sound, but also becomes repetitive after a few songs. Make no mistake, Mike Sullivan is incredible at making his one guitar sound like a whole orchestra, but there’s only so much tap-melody looping and over-dubbing one can take without the songs sounding a bit too “familiar.”
Despite its weaknesses, which are mostly forgivable, Station is a powerful, hard-hitting album that booms with energy at almost every moment. Most importantly, there is something undeniably “rock n’ roll” about Station that the majority of instrumental bands these days seem to have forgotten—a trait which has kept and will continue to keep Russian Circles way ahead of the game for years to come.
| Reviewer: Sean Butze Added: May 16th 2008 |
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