Russian Circles
Geneva
Rating: 4.0/ 5.0
Label: Suicide Squeeze
Evaluating instrumental music can be problematic; songs with lyrics provide a surface layer to analyze, while most instrumental music bears the stigma of being for hardcore fans, or for musicians themselves. Classical music is widely respected for being instrumental, so why shouldn’t modern music have the same courtesy? Chicago’s Russian Circles embrace the style, and on their third album, Geneva, they have created a stirring and evocative tapestry. The band is not afraid to layer and spread their sonic textures, which weave together into a complex and rounded audio landscape.
Geneva is an album that, like the city, suggests a coldness and distance. Opener “Fathom” soars with fuzzy guitar assaults that punctuate clearer, methodical passages, suggesting a turbulent journey. As the instruments collide then settle, the chugging opening chords of “Geneva” shake out and reshape the very same path. The title track carries a more industrial sound, suggesting machines grinding away, perfectly illustrating detachment and inaccessibility- one of the record’s most implicit themes.
“Hexed All” begins with a soft guitar tone, and swells to a lovely, almost elegiac pattern, acting as an informal diving line for the album. The inclusion of a string section on the album adds sophistication the compositions, but on this track the strings create an atmospheric and well-paced guide into the record’s second half. As it gives way to the more kinetic “Malko,” the album undergoes an emotional shift. The music explores both sides of the brain, with the prior half dealing with a downward spiral, and the latter evoking a rising action- a subtle reenactment of the schism in the album, but also an engaging instrumental battle.
“Malko” revs and staggers straight into “When the Mountain Comes to Mohammed,” an eclectic and challenging piece that features muted, static-tainted dialogue, making it feel like alien and distant, but also integral. It is a moment of sublime beauty, and a standout moment for articulating the album’s themes. The dialogue slowly blends into the song, soon becoming another layer, which segues into a section featuring a fuzzed horn section. This movement makes the song more evocative and swirling, and as the vocal track reregisters, it comes together as a momentous achievement.
Closer “Philos” encompasses all the efforts of the previous tracks, acting almost as a summation of their intents. It swells, it flails, guitars and drums clash and kick together, and they all slowly gel, attack and release. The last few minutes provide a circular, echoing sensation as the plunging track seams into the opening chords and progressions of “Fathom.” It is not a foreign concept for albums, especially in the post-rock genre, but because of the versatile instrumentation and the technical prowess of Russian Circles, it becomes a commanding and decisive endeavor on which to conclude their musical manifesto.
Geneva is an album that features next to no actual spoken words, but makes a statement just the same. Songs like “When the Mountain Comes to Mohammed” act as summit points, while tracks like “Hexed All” come in as decisive fault lines, creating a divide. Geneva’s album cover features an overcast shot of a metallic building, shaped like a turbine and the music contained inside is similar: daunting, cold to the initial touch, but pulsing vividly with information and layers. It is weathered and distant, but enveloping, and like steel, it absorbs.
by Rafael Gaitan
