Circle is a newer psych jam band from Finland, whom I've always found to be consistently interesting and adventurous throughout their career. From what I've heard so far, Golem / Vesiliirto still remains my favorite.
Disc 1
1. Salamander Sword
2. Matka
3. Destination Thunder
4. True Incubus from Beyond
5. At War with Mercy
6. Forbidden Steel Patriot
Disc 2
1. Korahteleva Haapa
2. Tuliset Miekat Käsissä
3. Kavaljeeri
4. Neljä Kolkkaa
5. Haulikko Ja Kivääri
6. Skanner / Lähetys
I like it when music can confound my brain and make me wonder "how did they make that?" The opening track Salamander Sword sounds that way to me. It's got a mysterious vibe that changes slightly each time I hear it as if gazing into a crystal ball. The vocals are hypnotic and shout on into space, with the clanking of strange machinery boiling under the surface backed by a vague hint of strings. This whole album has such an interesting vibe that is dreamlike or a depiction of the subconscious, with really good use of electronic/sound layering. As can often be the case with Circle, it's questionable what distinguishes the tracks from each other, so I would mostly recommend this to people who like jam bands, but want some really far out. Track 5 on Disc 1 goes into some almost industrial territory, with its cacophonous sound effects. The end of Disc 1 clears up into more quiet folky minimal territory with Forbidden Steel Patriot.
The interplay between the guitar, synth, and drums on the second track of Disc 2 is rhythmically interesting, in a way that sort of reminds me of Can. The album evolves into a complex rhythmic syncopation in track 3, having a sort of serialized Morse Code quality to it. Not sure what time signature its in. After that the album seems to dissolve back into the strange audio soup we heard in disc 1. It leads in with track 4, but by track 5 its somewhat stranger and more intense this time, verging into an almost Caroliner Rainbow level of insanity: gremlins whispering nonsense into your ear, synthesizers going in and out of coherence and incoherence. The second half of the song levels out into a jam that's pretty nice but I also wish they would have stayed with the chaos in the first half. The final track is the longest. It keeps the overall vibe of the album going with nothing particularly memorable about it other than just being a really awesome jam, as is per usual with Circle.
Its interesting how the first disc (Golem) is live while the second (Vesiliirto) is studio, which does make sense, especially considering the complexity of tracks 2 and 3 on Vsiliirto. They created a most unique vibe that underlies the whole thing while peppering in a variety of other experiments along the way. Its long and meandering, but makes for one hell of a unique trip. Its not the most meticulously crafted project, but there's simply nothing quite like it. 8/10
