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Blue Sky Noise, the latest Circa Survive release, redefines the band’s sound from dark and compelling to lighthearted and boring.
Whether it’s the weak lyrics or the manufactured tempos, Blue Sky Noise leaves the listener with a completely different impression of Circa Survive and little to be excited about.
Circa Survive has clearly taken a deep dive into the pop-rock genre, and in the process completely drowned the creative and unique sound of the band.
It is obvious that they wrote this album with the intention of gaining a large mainstream audience. However, it is unlikely they gain even those fond of pop-rock with how uninspired the core of this album is.
Even more damning, the album lacks any kind of catchy guitar rhythms, thoughtful lyrical hymns or melodic beats, although, this is not for lack of trying.
Lead singer Anthony Green’s high-pitched, scream-o roar on the group’s two earlier albums, has been replaced with a high-pitched whine that will drive any listener (even those fond of Green’s voice) crazy within the first minute of the first song on the album.
This is extremely unfortunate because Green has one of the most unique sounding voices in the modern rock scene. However, his voice requires deeper guitar riffs to offset the high tone of his voice, and it must be kept within some check because it can often grow too loud to a point that it overtakes the melody of the music behind it. And in Blue Sky Noise this is exactly what happens, the cheerier sound of the album leads the band to play higher-toned songs, and Green’s voice becomes an annoying screech instead of an enticing roar.
Although much of this album fails to have any appeal to any group of listener’s whatsoever, the entire album is not all bad. The ninth song on the album “Spirit of the Stairwell” is reminiscent of their first album Juturna and leaves behind the popish, Switchfootesque style that promulgates on the rest of Blue Sky Noise. Instead, “Spirit of the Stairwell” is an acoustic song that is played at a much slower tempo with much deeper tones that really bolster Green’s vocals instead of fighting for superiority over them. Overall, it is a beautiful and catchy song, and the only worthwhile track on the whole album.
Blue Sky Noise is an album even Circa Survive fans should pass up. It lacks any kind of musical or lyrical depth. Also, the band sacrifices its unique style for manufactured pop rhythms that might have been successful if they did not have to compete with the unappealing shrieks that are Green’s vocals on this album.
