Circle
Hollywood
Circle: No beginning and no end, and when you think youve come upon the conclusion youre back at the start. Perhaps this describes Circle's compositional work ethic more than anything. Circle is a west coast rock band, the west coast of Finland, that is. They live in a city called Pori, further north than the capital, Helsinki, and Stockholm, Sweden to the east. With its bustling harbor, growing industry and its own jazz festival, Pori also is home to Finland's most visible underground rock band, Circle. Their latest in a long line of innovative recordings, Hollywood, lists them as a "new exciting band from Finland." To most people, this is true enough, but to those paying attention, Circle has been making some of the most original modern rock music since the beginning of the 90s. Formed by bassist/guitarist/vocalist/creative wildman Jussi Lehtisalo, the group has been on an endless journey of musical exploration since they began. Besides being consummate players, the band are avid music collectors and enthusiasts; hence, Circle music and records have many stylistic touchstones, most notably Krautrock, artrock, avant garde, prog, and cinematic post rock. Just when you think youre getting a handle on them, though, you see they also have a deep love of heavy metal, particularly from the 1980s, all manner of punk rock, as well as Velvet-style droning and even country and folk music. (Their love of metal forged their now infamous tagline-NWOFHM. Get it?) Some have called them Finland's mighty masters of metallic hypno drone rock. The band that has been known for lyrics created in their own made-up language (known as Meronian) ala Magma or Sigur Ros. Wiseass Bruce Duff (previously know as singer for alternative metal band 'Jesters Of Destiny') chose to reduce everything to its lowest common denominator, otherwise known as English. The weighty, lengthy songs cover terrain from the Roundhouse to the Appalachians, and the eight songs also include a three-movement Requiem in all of its unashamed, unabashed prog rock glory and pretense. As has always been the case, Circle has presented itself yet again as being unwilling or unable to sit still or to be predictable, but their desire to present the best work possible is always a part of their program.