Art-rock that meditates on wistfulness
The Canadian band Blessed released their sophomore album Circuitous on October 28 of this year. The album is described by Bandcamp as “a sweeping, hyperreal, industrial art-rock tragedy rendered in walls of noise, controlled drums, meandering ambience, and staccato syncopation.”
The first track on the album, “Redefine,” starts off with arpeggiated guitar chords. It is overall a mellow song full of longing. The style has an alternative rock feel to it. The intensity of the song stays at a steady level throughout, and is calming and relaxed. “Trust,” which comes next, is a bit more upbeat, starting with guitar and drums. The vocals have the same mellow feel as the first song, but the whole track carries more of an intense vibe.
“Anything” starts off with a melodic guitar part and some accompanying power chords. The song is plaintive, reflective and calming. Like with the rest of tracks, this song maintains a pretty consistent mood throughout, with little contrast in style or intensity, a relaxing mix of quiet-sounding instruments and simple patterns from the guitars.
A little way down the album is “Person.” A mostly calm song, there is a middle section that explodes with powerful emotion. The song is an embodiment of the theme of the whole album, a sad and emotional expression of loneliness and longing.
“Peeling” definitely has a sarcastic, almost angry tone to it. With a descending glissando in the guitar and a dark bass ostinato, lyrics that hint at frustration with loneliness, the song evokes the feelings that its title implies: a sort of peeling away.
The last song on the album, “Guillotine,” is a fast-paced, energetic track with a dark mood. Some of the sounds have sharp edges and there is even a part of the song when the vocalist yells the lyrics, bringing the mood to the album’s highest intensity.
Circuitous is an exemplary art rock album with much power and edge, a meditative progression of music that gets you into your thoughts as much as it gets you out of your head.
Leave a Comment