Circuline - C.O.R.E. - 2024
“... two familiar faces from the uk ...”
intro
C.O.R.E. (Circuline + Original + Reimagined + Evolving) is the title of the new studio album by the American band Circuline. Saying this, to my surprise I see on the back cover a picture of the current line-up of the band, where I clearly recognize two British musicians. And not the least, Shelby Logan Warne and Dave Bainbridge. Although we know Shelby as a keyboardist and vocalist of the studio project Synesthesia and later the band Kyros, she plays the bass here. Dave Bainbridge we of course mainly know from the band Iona, a band that we all still miss, but that is history now and Dave now makes beautiful music as a solo artist under the name Celestial Fire, performs together with vocalist Sally Minnear (yes, the daughter of) and plays in the band Lifesigns. The list of bands and musicians he has worked with and has performed on stage is too long to mention here. We all know his exceptional skills on keyboards and guitar. After the two studio albums 'Return' and 'Counterpoint' and the live album 'New View' on CD, DVD and Blu-Ray, C.O.R.E. is the fourth release by Circuline.
line-up
Andrew Colyer - keyboards, sound design, lead and backing vocals; Darin Brannon - drums, percussion and keyboards; Natalie Brown - lead and backing vocals; Shelby Logan Warne - bass guitars; Dave Bainbridge - guitars and additional keyboards
Guest Artist: Joe Deninzon (Kansas) - electric violin; William "Billy" Spillane - backing vocals; Alek Darson - additional guitars
review
The album title C.O.R.E. stands for 'We are Circuline'. 'We are Original'. 'We are Reimagined'. 'We are Evolving'. And you can find 8 tracks on this new studio album.
The album opens with the track 'Tempus Horribilis' (6:23) which is about the turbulent times we live in now. In the atmospheric intro you immediately hear the beautiful guitar sounds of Dave Bainbridge. The original and swinging bass work of Shelby Logan Warne also stands out in the angular rhythmic part that follows. Later there is more melody in the song with beautiful vocal work by vocalist Natalie Brown and melodic guitar work by Dave Bainbridge. In the following 'Third Rail' (4:12) a short-form song about the hazardous topics in relationships, the vocalist's voice stands out because it sometimes reminds us a bit of Jon Anderson (Yes). On the website of Circuline and the already written reviews you can of course see the phenomenon of name dropping of the big prog bands from the seventies, but personally I don't hear this and I think that the music of Circuline has a quite unique character. It is a quiet song with good vocals and nice instrumental parts. In the last part where the intensity of the music increases, we can enjoy a wonderful guitar solo by Dave Bainbridge. 'Say Their Name' (6:14) with its atmospheric and ambient intro has beautiful vocal melodies and a subdued instrumentation. Halfway through this changes by heavy drum and electric guitar parts. The drums and percussion of Darin Brannon are in the spotlight here. In the following 'All' (7:52) which is co-written with Matt Dorsey, the progressive character of the band comes to the fore again. It is a varied song with wonderful instrumental parts with beautiful guitar, bass and synth parts.
'Temporal Thing' (5:37) - a song about the ambivalence that can present in long-term relationships, opens quietly with acoustic guitar and a delicate piano. In this song you can hear some influences of the band Yes. You can hear this best in the acoustic guitar sounds in the first part and later through the electric guitar and keyboard orchestrations. The song 'You' (6:14) has a darker atmosphere than the previous tracks. It is not the personal highlight of this album for me but there is a beautiful guitar solo by Dave Bainbridge. The ballad 'Blindside' (6:00) is co-written with Matt Dorsey. The beautiful melodies are back in this song. Dave Bainbridge's guitar work is great again. His contributions to this album take this album to an even better level. The album ends with a real epic of almost 10 minutes long. I am talking about the song 'Transmission Error' (9:22) another song about relationships, "finding yourself", or space creatures. The band can't choose yet, I read on their website. This is one of the most proggy tracks on this album. A varied song with the necessary tempo changes and mood changes. In the later part of the song you hear delicious synth and guitar parts. The intensity of the music runs nicely to a kind of climax.
conclusion
Circuline is a band that makes quite original progressive rock music. You can only hear some influences from the band Yes. And I mean this as a compliment, progressive music is about original and groundbreaking music. Personally I think that the guitar work and the additional keyboard work of Dave Bainbridge lift this album to a higher level. For his contribution I would buy this album myself. It is an album that you have to listen to a few times before it starts to grow on you and you keep discovering new details. This has the advantage that the music remains fascinating. Give the music of this original band a chance. If you are already a fan of the guitar work of Dave Bainbridge, you are in good hands.