Circa Survive - The Amulet (September 22, 2017) Album • Page 91

yeah The Amulet fucking rules. I'm with @incognitojones in saying that an discography run made me enjoy this album a lot more

 

I think my favorites on Descensus are Schema, Child..., Always Begin, Only The Sun, and Nesting Dolls, but I'll re-evaluate when I get to it in my run.

 

Guess I gotta run too damn

 

Not gonna do a run but after reflecting on a lot of their older material and spinning the shit out of this one, it's becoming more and more apparent to me that The Amulet seems like the perfect amalgamation of their entire body of work up until this point. It has the spacey atmosphere of Juturna and OLG, the catchiness of BSN and VW, and the songwriting chops of Descensus. It would not be my #1 in a ranking , or even my #2 -- but I do feel if I had to pick one album to represent their career as a whole, this would be the easy choice.

 

My Only Friend is the best song on VW LOL

I'll Find a Way is my second favorite album closer as well, after Your Friends are Gone

 

YOU'LL TEAR OUT ALL YOUR HAIRRRR I KNOW YOU WILL

 

K, thoughts:

For all the talk in this thread of their first 2 albums sounding like a band trying to figure themselves out, that's exactly what The Amulet sounds like to me. This album sounds like Juturna and OLG had a baby, but a baby that's not as attractive as its (crazy stupid obscenely unassailably hot) parents. It's got all their general features, but none are fully defined. It's never quite as spacey or progressive as Juturna, and it's never quite as colourful or lush as OLG. It never really commits or lets itself go, and so most tracks end up sounding really restrained and stuck in this murky hinterland in between all these different territories. It sounds subdued, but still not quite subdued enough for even that to sound totally intentional.

That said, this is album is still damn good. It's absolutely downright stunning in some places. It's still atmospheric and melodic, a little bit haunting and ethereal (due in part to Anthony's falsetto, which is like the loveliest thing I've ever heard), and Anthony's best lyrical outing in a decade. And that entire outro section of the title track is a serious contender for favourite moment in their entire discography for me. I'm all about that post-rock-esque explosive crescendo/climax shit. It's fucking awesome.

I feel like if Circa really dug in their heels and pursued that more subdued, haunting, ethereal sound on a future album, I'd be completely head-over-heels in love. It's that aspect of this album that I appreciate most - and even in writing this and really focusing on that aspect, it's making me appreciate the album even more - and I just wish we'd gotten a bit more of it.

So yeah. This album does a lot of cool (for lack of a less stupid word) things that I just feel weren't fully fleshed out. Still, I really goddamn like this album and I'm very happy to have it.

Early ranking:

1. On Letting Go/Juturna
2. Juturna/On Letting Go
3. The Amulet/Descensus
4. Descensus/The Amulet
5. Blue Sky Noise
6. the other one

 

I was going through old Facebook pics and stumbled upon this little doodle I drew up in like 2010. OLG is the perfect album cover.

 

I won’t stand for that kind of desrespect for violent waves

 

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

Yeah I really need to sit down and spend sometime doing that with Descensus and The Amulet.

 

I listened to The Amulet today during my run on some crappy crap headphones and it still sounded wonderful.

 

I will say after another half-dozen listens, I am a bit disappointed by the production on this. I wish it sounded... like... fuller or bigger or more open or something. It sounds very condensed. Like the audio equivalent of a Tokyo subway car, everything's just mashed up against each other with no room to breathe and some stuff is being inappropriately groped by other stuff and nothing's being done about it.

That was actually in reference to Appendage. VW doesn't even get ranked.

 

Even worse

 

I did that with both records this week and it really kept me sucked in, especially for Descensus. It's such a good album, but sometimes I get a little lost with it.

 

As great as the closer is, I would have loved a full, fleshed out version. Maybe clocking in around 7 minutes or so? The ending just feels so abrupt and I'm left wanting more.

 

Blue Sky Noise

This album is pretty special to me. I love that they accessed their pop sensibilities on this record. The songwriting may be more straightforward and lean than their first two, but the combination of big rock songs with classic elements of Circa Survive is one that I'm very much a fan of. These songs sound like they could fill stadiums.

I do have some gripes with the production. I think Anthony's vocals could have been lower in the mix, and there are some times when I'm not a huge fan of the way the guitars sound (the most prominent example is the really hokey lead in Spirit of the Stairwell). I also think that, although the production value accentuates the catchiness and poppiness of the songs, it takes away some of the atmosphere that I really love in this band.

Overall, this is still riding high as my second favorite Circa Survive album. I have a very strong connection with a lot of the songs here - Glass Arrows, Though the Desert Alone, Fever Dreams, Dyed in the Wool, just to name a few - and some of these songs rank among the best the band has ever done: all 4 of the previous, and I'd also put Strange Terrain and Get Out up there. I will also gladly die on the hill of people who think I Felt Free and Imaginary Enemy get unfairly panned.

I think it's an extremely cohesive album as well. I love all of the ambient sounds and interludes that come between the songs. I know it's not really a concept album, but it feels like one to me, and that helps draw me in when I'm listening.
BSN is definitely an outlier in their discography now, but I really love what they achieved here.

 

Put on the first two albums and strolled around in beautiful pa fall foliage. This what these records were made for

 

Just finished up with Juturna for my album run through. Figured I'd also share my thoughts on the band's discography while others are too.

This album is fearless. I'm honestly surprised at how it took off and launched the band into critical acclaim pretty much from the get go in this scene. So many odd time signatures and song structures. The guitars are dizzying, the rhythms wild, and Anthiny's vocals and lyrics otherworldly. The album isn't lacking in hooks. Act Appaled and In Fear And Faith are big hits, obviously, but Holding Someone's Hair Back, Stop The Fuckin' Car, and Oh Hello are so infectious.

The album also has two absolutely massive songs in We're All Thieves amd House Of Leaves. The former took years to really click with me, but now that it has the song has been cemented as one of my all time favorite Circa Survive songs. As for House Of Leaves, it's a shame it was left as a hidden track. I remember reading somewhere that someone in the band (I think Colin) said he regrets not just officially including it to close out the album. Regardless of whether it's Meet Me In Montauk or House Of Leaves closing out the album, it ends well.

And now my dumb song ranking:

We're All Thieves
House Of Leaves
Stop The Fuckin' Car
In Fear And Faith
Holding Someone's Hair Back
The Glorious Nosebleed
Act Appalled
The Great Golden Baby
Oh, Hello
Meet Me In Montauk
Wish Resign
Always Getting What You Want

 

Honestly, there's so much more I could say about Juturna, but I wouldn't know when to stop. That album changed the way I listened to music and it help mold my taste in music to what it is today. The hazy atmosphere of the album is lovely and the guitarwork is absolutely wild. Not to me that Steve has been a huge influence on me as a drummer. Shout out to him for his work on The Glorious Nosebleed, Stop The Fuckin' Car, and We're All Thieves. These songs are tough to keep up with the rhythm even after all these years. Juturna has, without a doubt, earned a place inside my top 50 favorite albums of all time. It has such a special place in my heart after nearly eight full years of listening to it.

 

HSHB A+
AA A
WR A+
GNB B+
IFAF A+
GGB B
STFC A+
WAT A+
OH B+
SD A
AGWYW A
MIM A
HOL A+

 

LT A+
ITMAA A+
TGL A+
TDBMAPIITD A+
Mandala A+
TH A
SCC A
KYCD A+
OLG A+
CUA B
CYETS A
AYFAG A+

 

"Oh, Hello" looks to be low on everyone's lists, but it's way up there for me. It took me awhile to appreciate it fully, though. So exhilarating. Both the melodic and rhythmic elements are so unbelievably infectious, which is tough to pull off, even for a band this good.

 

Just wrapped up On Letting Go. This one is my favorite from the band, which is interesting because from 2010-2013 it was always at the bottom of my list (I always liked it though). However, everything changed in 2014. Anything that I hadn't fully appreciated yet I had begun to and anything I already loved I fell even more madly in love with.

Living Together and In The Morning And Amazing is the the strongest opening duo in this band's discography. I go fucking buckwild for Living Together and In The Morning is both dizzying and dreamlike all at once amd Anthony crushes that song lyrically ("You were in my dream/half human half machine"). The Greatest Lie has such a great groove to it, as does The Difference Between Medicine And Poison Is In The Dose (yeah I typed it all out). Both songs have absolutely psychedelic guitarwork that sets the atmosphere for both while Anthony shows a more personal side to himself that wasn't quite seen on Juturna. I think these songs also begin to showcase the band adding more pop sensibilities and more conventional songwriting to their sound. It works very well.

Mandala is fucking nuts on drums. If you've never listened to the drum stems from this song, please do. Those stems alone are fucking bonkers, let alone the entire song. Travel Hymn offers up a nice breather and features some of my favorite lyrics Anthony has ever penned, specifically in the song's bridge. Semi Constructive Criticism is an unrelenting jam and a half that has one of the most powerful choruses on the album. Colin and Brendan slay on this track. Kicking Your Crosses Down is anither inportant breather after the scorching SCC. I love the lyrics to this one and the chorus is one of the more creative aspects on this album, especially from Steve.

I love the title track a lot, possibly more than most. The lyrics are devastating to me and I love the mood the band creates on the song. Carry Us Away is perhaps the only song on here I'm not madly in love with, but it is a cool song and I think has its place earned on the album. Close Your Eyes To See might be the biggest grower for me. More great lyrics from Anthony and a very interesting melody in the chorus. Steve crushes this song. It's a lot of fun to play on drums. And then Your Friends Are Gone is just so haunting and breathtaking. Without a doubt my favorite closer of theirs to date. The lyrics are just gut-wrenching.

This album is very important to me. I began listening to this band in late 2009 and came on board as a fan very early on in 2010 after getting Juturna amd OLG for Christmas in 09. Both these albums informed my music exploration so much, but OLG was the one I always connected more with lyrically. This album was something I was able to latch onto during a bout with depression where I also began questioning my faith. I was raised Catholic and I began to question my identity as a person ans my belief system and moral compass a lot in 2010 and this album was part the soundtrack to that. It'a remained close to me ever since and has been my favorite Circa Survive album for about four years now and has a place inside of my top 5 favorite albums of all time.

And now my dumb song ranking:

Your Friends Are Gone
Living Together
The Difference Between Medicine And Poison...
On Letting Go
In The Morning And Amazing
Semi Constructive Criticism
Close Your Eyes To See
The Greatest Lie
Kicking Your Crosses Down
Mandala
Travel Hymn
Carry Us Away

 

@Deathco_019 great great great post.