Chicago’s Russian Circles will release their new, Kurt Ballou-recorded LP, Guidance, Aug. 5 on Sargent House. US tour dates have been announced to coincide, and a trailer for Guidance has been posted that you can see/hear below. It’s an immediately tense impression, propulsive drums leading a heavier crunch than what the trio’s last outing, 2013’s Memorial, presented. That’s not surprising necessarily with Ballou at the board, but it will be interesting to hear how the whole record plays out, which I wouldn’t dare make a guess on based off of 46 seconds of one of its tracks, whichever one it happens to be.

Fresh-chopped off the PR wire:

RUSSIAN CIRCLES ANNOUNCE NEW ALBUM, GUIDANCE & NORTH AMERICAN TOUR

LP due out August 5th from Sargent House

Celebrated Chicago post-metal/rock trio Russian Circles are thrilled to announce their highly-anticipated sixth studio album, Guidance, due out August 5th from Sargent House. This 7-song, 40-minute LP was recorded by Kurt Ballou at GodCity Studio in Salem, MA and showcases Russian Circles at their best and most realized yet in their decade-long career. Check out the teaser video for Guidance now on YouTube.

In support of Guidance, Russian Circles have announced an extensive North American headlining tour that spans August through October and features Cloakroom and Helms Alee on select dates. This tour follows Russian Circles’ forthcoming appearances at Levitation Fest Vancouver and Crucial Fest in Salt Lake City in June. Most recently, Russian Circles toured the UK and Europe (where they headlined DesertFest in London, Dunkfest in Belgium among others) and their live show has been highly regarded since their inception; Seattle Times said, like their albums, Russian Circles’ “…live performance is a rhythmic experience. Their timbre and chord sequences are powerful, but their masterful control of tempo and shocking entry and exit points are perhaps their most prominent feature. Their breakdowns don’t only kill with brute force, but often catch you off guard when they fly in from the side.” While their recorded output is worthy in its own right, Russian Circles have long shined bright as a live act – check out all shows listed below with more to be announced soon

Guidance will be released on CD, LP and digital formats on August 5th from Sargent House. More news, and song premiere, coming soon.

Guidance, Track Listing:
1. Asa
2. Vorel
3. Mota
4. Afrika
5. Overboard
6. Calla
7. Lisboa

RUSSIAN CIRCLES – LIVE 2016
Jun 16 Vancouver, BC – Levitation Vancouver
Jun 18 Salt Lake City, UT – Crucial Fest

RUSSIAN CIRCLES – with Cloakroom
Aug 26 Madison, WI – High Noon Saloon
Aug 27 Minneapolis, MN – Cedar Cultural Center
Aug 29 Missoula, MT – Palace Lounge
Aug 30 Seattle, WA – Neumos
Aug 31 Portland, OR – Doug Fir Lounge
Sep 2 San Francisco, CA – Great American Music Hall
Sep 3 Los Angeles, CA – The Teragram Ballroom
Sep 5 Phoenix, AZ – Crescent Ballroom
Sep 6 Albuquerque, NM – Launchpad
Sep 7 Englewood, CO – The Gothic Theatre
Sep 8 Kansas City, MO – The Riot Room
Sep 9 Chicago, IL – Metro

RUSSIAN CIRCLES – with Helms Alee
Sep 25 Detroit, MI – El Club
Sep 26 Toronto, ON – Lee’s Palace
Sep 28 Cambridge, MA – The Sinclair
Sep 29 Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer
Sep 30 Brooklyn, NY – Warsaw
Oct 1 Washington, DC – Rock & Roll Hotel
Oct 2 Durham, NC – Motorco Music Hall
Oct 4 Atlanta, GA – Aisle 5
Oct 5 Birmingham, AL – Saturn
Oct 6 Baton Rouge, LA – Spanish Moon
Oct 7 Houston, TX – Warehouse Live Studio
Oct 8 Austin, TX – Barracuda
Oct 9 Dallas, TX – RBC

http://russiancirclesband.com/
https://www.facebook.com/russiancirclesmusic
http://russiancircles.bandcamp.com/
http://instagram.com/russiancircband
http://twitter.com/russiancircles
http://sargenthouse.com/

Russian Circles, Guidance trailer

Even as Russian Circles are currently on a North American run that will see them touring into the middle of next month with support along the way from KENmode, Inter Arma and Helms Alee, the Chicago three-piece have plans ahead to head to Australia in the spring. Starting April 29, Russian Circles will begin a five-show stint of Aussie dates presented by Life is Noise supporting their 2013 LP, Memorial, which was released last fall on Sargent House.

From the other side of the planet, the PR wire speaks to you:

life is noise presents: RUSSIAN CIRCLES (USA) AUSTRALIAN TOUR 2014

Russian Circles return to Australia this April/May for shows in Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney in support of their latest masterwork Memorial.

Hailing from Chicago, the instrumental trio have been spent the last decade crafting their own niche atmospheric and entrancing take on heavy music, pushing the boundaries of what can be achieved with a guitar, bass, drums and lots of volume.

Last here in 2012 in support of their fourth LP, Empros, Russian Circles’ live show is something to behold. Brian Cook has one of the most visceral bass sounds you’ll ever hear. Guitarist Mike Sullivan is a master of the looping, building layer upon layer of dense riffs with what looks like effortless precision. Meanwhile, drummer Dave Turncrantz defines the mood, alternating between controlled precision and rhythmic chaos.

On their fifth record, Memorial, Russian Circles push the polarities of their sound, creating a record that’s as reflective as it is unsettling, and cementing the band’s position as legitimate peers of genre innovators like Isis and Neurosis. The valleys are deeper and the peaks higher, and with the addition of synthesizers and strings, the three-piece tap into the meditative territory explored by the likes of Mogwai and Godspeed You! Black Emperor.

See Russian Circles on the following dates:

Tuesday, April 29 – Crowbar – Brisbane
Tickets from lifeisnoise.com, oztix and the venue.

Wednesday, April 30 – Fowler’s Live – Adelaide
Tickets from lifeisnoise.com, venuetix, moshtix, oztix and the venue.

Thursday, May 1 – Hi Fi Bar – Melbourne
Tickets from lifeisnoise.com, oztix and the venue.

Friday, May 2 – Rosemount Hotel – Perth
Tickets from lifeisnoise.com, oztix and the venue.

Saturday, May 3 – Manning Bar – Sydney
Tickets from lifeisnoise.com, oztix and the venue.

Website – http://russiancirclesband.com/
Bandcamp – http://russiancircles.bandcamp.com/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/russiancirclesmusic
Twitter – https://twitter.com/russiancircband
Label – http://sargenthouse.com/

Russian Circles, Memorial (2013)

Call me crazy, but Russian Circles, KENmode and Inter Arma OR Russian Circles, KENmode and Helms Alee sounds like a pretty good bill. As we head into the snowy deadness of winter here in the Northeast — somebody get me more black metal, stat! — it’s good to have something like this Russian Circles February/March tour to look forward to. Yeah, it’ll still be cold as hell by the time they show up in this part of the world, but at least it’ll be a reason to leave the house — something that I suspect by then will be in pretty short supply.

Dig the news off the PR wire and Russian Circles‘ latest outing, Memorial, in full below:

Russian Circles announce U.S. tour dates in support of critically acclaimed new album Memorial

Chicago trio Russian Circles announce extensive U.S. headlining tour dates today beginning in February 2014 in support of their recently released fifth album Memorial. Ken Mode support on all shows with Inter Arma on the first portion and recent Sargent House signing Helms Alee on the latter leg of tour. Please see complete dates below.

Memorial is available on LP, CD and download via Sargent House, released on October 29th, 2013.

RUSSIAN CIRCLES TOUR 2014
02/04 Iowa City, IA @ Gabe’s Oasis #
02/05 St. Louis, MO @ The Firebird #
02/07 Austin, TX @ Red 7 #
02/08 Dallas, TX @ Club Dada #
02/09 Houston, TX @ Fitzgerald’s Upstairs #
02/10 New Orleans, LA @ The Parish @ House of Blues #
02/11 Tallahassee, FL @ Rehab #
02/12 Orlando, FL @ Will’s Pub #
02/13 Tampa, FL @ The Orpheum #
02/14 Birmingham, AL @ WorkPlay Theatre #
02/15 Atlanta, GA @ The Earl #
02/17 Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle #
02/18 Washington DC @ The Rock and Roll Hotel #
02/19 Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts #
02/20 New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom #
02/21 Cambridge, MA @ The Middle East Downstairs #
02/22 Brooklyn, NY @ Saint Vitus #
02/23 Pittsburgh, PA @ Altar Bar #
02/24 Cleveland Heights, OH @ Grog Shop #
02/25 Ann Arbor, MI @ Blind Pig #
02/27 Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock Social Club #
02/28 Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room #
03/01 Englewood, CO @ Gothic Theatre #
03/02 Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge #
03/03 Boise, ID @ Neurolux #
03/04 Seattle, WA @ Neumo’s *
03/05 Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom *
03/07 San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall *
03/09 San Diego, CA @ The Casbah *
03/10 Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theatre *
03/12 Phoenix, AZ @ The Crescent Ballroom *
03/13 Albuquerque, NM @ Launchpad *
03/14 Oklahoma City, OK @ The Conservatory *
03/15 Kansas City, MO @ The Record Bar *
03/16 Chicago, IL @ Metro *

# w/ Ken Mode, Inter Arma
* w/ Helms Alee, Ken Mode

www.russiancirclesband.com
facebook.com/russiancirclesmusic
twitter.com/russiancircband

Russian Circles, Memorial (2013)

It had been four weeks since I’d last seen a show, and for lack of better phrasing, I was out of my fucking mind. Not that nothing had rolled through in that time — there’d been plenty of opportunities to get out — my mental and physical energy was occupied elsewhere. But when my weekend calendar seemed to be open just in time to catch Russian Circles at Radio City Music Hall, it was too cool an opportunity to pass up.

I mean, Russian Circles are a good band, but they’re still basically an underground act. Instrumental post-rock? The ads plastered up around the place were for people like Mike Tyson and Leonard Cohen. Even Coheed and Cambria, who were headlining the show, seemed like a stretch to me. I always thought of that as the kind of place you had to be Elton John before you could play. At very least James Taylor. Russian Circles you’d expect at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, or if you had to keep it in Manhattan, the Bowery Ballroom. To catch them at Radio City — in a place that big, in front of what would still be thousands of people even though they’d just be filing in at the time — seemed pretty special.

Even for that, the show was something of a departure for me. Usually, one idolizes seeing a bigger band at a smaller place — see any number of shows Brooklyn’s St. Vitus bar has put on in the last year-plus — so this, seeing a known but still relatively underground act at what’s indisputably a major venue, took the opposite route toward being an exception. Generally speaking, I don’t like big venues, big venue shows or big venue bands, but like I say, it had been four weeks and though there was other stuff going on I could’ve hit up, Russian Circles struck me as the one to catch.

It was the last night of a 28-date run, Russian Circles supporting Between the Buried and Me and Coheed and Cambria, though there was little of the end-of-tour pranking that I’d seen at Enslaved‘s recent Manhattan gig. Just as well, since Russian Circles essentially play in the dark and so any shenanigans might not have been seen by the crowd anyway, not to mention the heads-down-locked-in feel they have on stage. Before they went on, Coheed and Cambria‘s Claudio Sanchez and someone who appeared to be his wife, Chondra Echert-Sanchez, came out and did an acoustic, poppy take on “2’s My Favorite 1,” which apparently isn’t the teenybopper hit the title might imply, but a track of Coheed‘s latest album, Afterman: The Descension, released just at the start of the tour.

As someone who’s never even come close to being a Coheed and Cambria fan, I could’ve cared less, but the crowd, still milling in at the time — just about 7PM — went off, cell phones in the air to get the video. When the song was over, the Sanchezes said thanks and split on the quick and a couple minutes later, Russian Circles emerged, their stage lit by two single lightbulbs on either side — one in front of guitarist Mike Sullivan, one under the keyboard of bassist Brian Cook — and two floodlights behind drummer Dave Turncrantz. Last time I saw the band was in 2008 opening for Clutch‘s New Year’s tour at Starland Ballroom — not their crowd — so I knew they kept the lighting minimal, but at a place the size of Radio City, it was all the more accented, the shadows as expansive as the hall itself.

Russian Circles only played four songs, but in that time gave a fair sampling of their catalog. From 2008’s Station came opener “Harper Lewis,” followed by the title-track from 2009’s Geneva, which led into “Mlàdek,” the gallop-happy highlight from 2011’s Empros (review here), and from 2006’s debut, Enter, the closer “Death Rides a Horse.” For most of their time, I was up front taking pictures — a “first three songs” rule for a four-song set gave me a chuckle — so apart from having to crouch down in front of the stage, it probably wasn’t all that different from seeing them in a smaller room, but once I shuffled back to my seat for the duration of “Death Rides a Horse,” the sense of space really set in.

The three of them on the stage looked like they were playing in the mouth of some prehistoric megawhale. Their tones — Sullivan playing Verellen amps through Emperor cabinets, lest there should be any doubts of their dueling Chicago/Seattle origins — were full, but running through a house P.A. at what I don’t doubt was a don’t-be-louder-than-the-headliner level, so as I pulled my earplugs partially out to get a better listen, it was Turncrantz‘s snare that cut through most prominent. That said, Russian Circles managed to be ambient at Radio City Music Hall, a place scientifically engineered for acoustics but not for a wash of sound, and that seemed like a triumph. At very least, a hell of a way to end a tour.

Empros was by far the freshest on my mind of their material, so I was glad to catch “Mlàdek,” and their demeanor fit the mood of the material. There was no showy thrashing around, no arena-rock foot-on-the-monitor posturing. Russian Circles, apart from being older and perhaps more suspendered in the case of Cook, were much as I remembered them, which I was glad to see considering how it seemed to work for them last time around and on their lush studio work. They finished and said goodnight with as little ceremony as they’d walked out onto the dim stage, and I split likewise shortly thereafter.

It was not yet 8PM when I got back to my car. Probably I could’ve stayed and watched Between the Buried and Me or Coheed and Cambria, but yeah, no. I left the city like I was getting away with something. The Patient Mrs. and I went out to a late(r) dinner and still got to enjoy a decent portion of the evening, and I exhaled for what felt like the first time in two weeks, worried much less that my brain was going to explode for not having been out in so long, so on the existential and practical levels, this one was a win. Took an odd route to get there, but it got there, anyway.

Extra pics after the jump. Special thanks to Dave Clifford for making this happen and to you for reading.

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For their fourth album, Empros (first directly for Sargent House), the instrumental three-piece Russian Circles returned to producer Brandon Curtis of The Secret Machines, who also helmed 2009’s Geneva. The reasons why are fairly obvious: What the Chicago outfit was able to accomplish with Geneva was their most formidable blend yet of ambience and post-metallic heft, and for the sheer sounds Curtis was able to capture from guitarist Mike Sullivan, bassist Brian Cook (also ex-Botch/These Arms are Snakes) and drummer Dave Turncrantz, their wanting to recreate at least that element of the Geneva experience is well justified. That said, Empros and Geneva are different enough albums that, even without vocals as the latest is – except for the psychedelic lullaby closer “Praise be Man” – it becomes clear Russian Circles approached the construction of these songs with something altogether heavier in mind. It’s not so much that their tones have changed, though right from opener “309,” there’s a lot riding on the sometimes Godfleshy and mechanized feel of Cook’s bass, but the way the material is put together. Where some of Geneva’s ambience was allowed to wander, the six tracks of Empros are less so, so that even when the heaviness breaks into a stretch of indie-infused airy atmospherics, loops and long-ringing tones, there’s a pointedness and direction to them.

Likewise, when Russian Circles do launch into one of the crunching parts through which they’ve helped innovate post-metal instrumentalism, they sound heavier than they ever have. Four albums in, they also know how to make that work to their advantage. Both “309” and “Mlàdek,” which follows, build to stunning apexes, the later propelled by a galloping riff worthy of YOB but played faster and still cut too short. The second track has a kind of pop drama in its earlier stretch, with Turncrantz setting an upbeat pace and playing well off Sullivan’s cues. The name reportedly comes from their bus driver on their European tour for Geneva, and it’s one of the most discernible structures on Empros, twice repeating a section cycle before launching into the build that comprises the aforementioned second half. A lot of what Russian Circles do on Empros will sound familiar to heads who’ve watched post-metal come of age, and while it probably won’t change too many minds who are either sick of the sound or bemoaning the inevitable sacrifice of crushing sonics that comes with ambience, Russian Circles have grown into a band who not only can manage both, but who helped bring the subgenre to what it is. I’d include the likes of Red Sparowes and fellow Chicagoans Pelican in this as well, the latter perhaps most of all, but Russian Circles have consistently managed to concoct solid matter from distant waves of sound. The added transitional elements they bring to Empros only show an increase in overall focus and maturity in how they think about their work on a larger scale.

Read more »

I’ve come to really hate the redundancy of the phrase “digital download.” Well of course it’s a digital download. There isn’t any other kind! Let me just go to the ATM machine and get some cash money for that digital download. Ugh. It’s not like I can download a sandwich, and even if I could, I’d most likely be doing so from some form of the internet, making it still a digital download. It’s my new linguistic pet peeve, and at this point, I’m convinced the reason I keep seeing it in press releases is because record companies know that pay-downloads are a ripoff and they feel like they need to spice it up with an extra word.

It shows up in this release about Russian Circles‘ new album, Empros, which is out Oct. 25 on Sargent House, but it seems to be everywhere this week. “Digital download.” Well, here’s the press release, keyboard cut and paste from my electronic email. Grump grump grump:

Russian Circles return with not only their fourth and heaviest album to date — but also with Empros they’re poised to take the crown as innovators reinvigorating the staid trappings of genre. Empros picks up where the anthemic riffs and melodies of 2009’s Geneva left off and injects evermore slithering rhythms amid skull-crushing heft with all the visceral intensity of Godflesh, Swans and Neurosis. Put simply, Empros is Russian Circles‘ Master of Reality: a radical revision of both heavy and melody that is monolithic in its clarity and perfection. Or, like a lone surviving wooly beast emerging from a brutal winter’s frost, Empros is the sound of a band shaking the ages from its shoulders with all the brutal force of a behemoth awakened.

Taking to Chicago‘s Phantom Manor studio once again with producer Brandon Curtis of The Secret Machines and Interpol — who also helmed the band’s previous album Geneva — Russian Circles set out to experiment with their sound in new ways that would still reflect their live sound. In so doing, the band reached a new creative apex in which each of the musicians, guitarist Mike Sullivan, drummer Dave Turncrantz and bassist Brian Cook impart a streamlined and intensified attack to their songs that pummels even as it shifts throughout a range of moods and tempos.

Empros is Russian Circles‘ first full-length to be released worldwide exclusively via Sargent House, the band’s longtime management company and record label that had previously released only the vinyl editions of its three prior albums. It will be available everywhere on LP, CD and Digital Download on Oct. 25, 2011.

Russian Circles, Empros track list:
01. 309
02. Mladek
03. Schipol
04. Atackla
05. Batu
06. Praise Be Man

I was waiting to post this until I finished my interview with Mario Lalli of Fatso Jetson. That was the plan. I was going to do the interview, which has been shuffled around the last week or so due to scheduling conflicts on both sides, then triumphantly post a Frydee video and call it a week.

Of course the interview hasn’t happened yet. It’s 11PM valley time and when I talked to Mr. Lalli earlier this evening he told me Cafe 322 (the restaurant he and cousin/bandmate Larry Lalli own together) was understaffed and he’d call me back. These things happen. I’m not upset. I watched the ball game and drank some wine. Life has been much worse.

The above Red Fang video was linked through StonerRock.com today, and it ruled, so there it is.

Those of you around this weekend, keep an eye on the site, as I’ll be posting the June 2010 podcast (we missed May, sorry, but we had the Dio-cast, so that ought to make up for it; certainly there were extenuating circumstances there) as soon as it’s made, hopefully tomorrow but Sunday at the latest. New podcasts rule, and if you missed the voting, well, you’ll just have to be surprised to see who came out on top.

I’ll also be around Monday (no Memorializing for me), so check in for regular updates, and next week we’ll wrap up the month — the numbers are close, so feel free to check in numerous times — give the numbers and post interviews with Kongh and Jimmy Bower of Eyehategod. Maybe even Mario Lalli if it all comes together. Here’s hoping.

I was kind of bummed when CD World on Rt. 46 in Totowa went out of business, and couldn’t have cared less when Coconuts right down the road did the same. As I stood in the FYE on Rt. 10 in East Hanover with the “LAST 3 DAYS!” sign outside and all the yellow “Going out of Business — Everything Must Go!” paraphernalia strewn about the place, I was appreciative of the fact that the indies, the Vintage Vinyls and Sound Exchanges, are still going. Who knows for how long.

Everything was at least half off, and I was down that way anyway picking up my car at long last after the whole key/toilet debacle, so I figured I’d pop in. They had a few copies of Behemoth‘s Evangelion left, one of which I grabbed just for the hell of it, and a disc called Super Duper by the band Valentine Saloon that was $1.99 (before the sale) and had artwork that looked like it was by Frank Kozik. It wasn’t. The album was, however, produced by Jack Endino. Unfortunately, it was also really, really bad.

The upshot was the self-titled album from Portland, OR‘s Red Fang, whose new school beery/bearded boogie Melvins rocking got me wherever the hell I was going that night. The highlight of the record is probably “Humans Remain Human Remains,” although “Good to Die” has balls big enough to trip over them. There’s a definite Floor/Torche influence, which adds pop flair, and at their most unhinged, they’re not quite as break-stuffy as Akimbo — who’ve more or less mastered the art of cerebral post-hardcore violence — but they’re not so terribly far off.

It was a pleasant surprise to come upon Red Fang in that setting, where once, by sheer luck, I found a used copy of Astroqueen‘s Into Submission, but even so, I’m not sorry to see FYE go. It’s a bummer for anyone if they were looking to make a lifetime career out of working there, but judging by the bored looks on the faces of the post-adolescents behind the counter, I don’t think they were too concerned. As some ring bells in memory of physical media, I’m more than happy to pick up their discarded treasures for half price. And yeah, if Beyonce stops making CDs, that’s fine, but I’m pretty sure Red Fang‘s next one will be pressed to plastic one way or another. When it is, I’ll be ready for it.