THE LICK ON THE TIP OF AN ENVELOPE YET TO BE SENT

Circulus succeeded to photograph damned well the universe in which we breathe, restoring us to the dawn of the '70, when the prog music began to circulate in the veins of the more creative musicians and a weird iridescent atmosphere began to expand itself. One thousand colors and touches, in a teaching mixture of folk-rock, avant-garde, psychedelia, medieval heritages and the constant influence of groups like Jethro Tull, Jefferson Airplane, Emerson Lake & Palmer and the first Pink Floyd. Together with their poster glued to the walls of an old house lost in the periphery of London, too acid and mysterious mushrooms given to the light an album from the bizarre title "The Lick On The Tip Of An Envelopé Yet To Drinks Sent". The mirage of California accompanies the fantastic transcend of songs like "My Body Is Made Of Sunlight" and "The Aphid", that have the power to transport us to past times, simply maintaining the attentive look of today. The tormenting voice of Marianne Segal in "Swallow" seems to want remember us its Jade and those thirty-three turns in vinyl that permeated with their smell the air of the rooms where to listen to a disk seemed to be a tribute to the devil. Circulus seems to possess the keys of the time and love to flaunt them in all their golden enamel, while acid shoutings underline the melodic parts, observing moog and organ challenging themselves to the last blood in a duel that could be been filmed from Sergio Leone. The phosphorescent lights of "Orpheus" and the delicate gait of "Candlelight" are other two moments that put to hard test our emotional office, sprinkling our skin of insane '70s shudders and modulated nervous recalls in tune with harmonies capable to plagiarize us. Until the heart it is not stopped..

3.5 stars, really.

Well, there is something about a band who dresses in medieval clothing and sings about pixies that appeals to me! I managed to discover the band as I was sharing a bill with them at the Mosely Folk Festival in 2006. Youtube also helped my appreciation as well.

The album is of the length of the average vinyl album of the 1970s which doesn't cause me any problem whatsoever. First and foremost, the cover is fantastic and the music contained within is a fantastic slice of Acid Folk/ Prog Folk. I wonder whether Comus are an influence? Their music is lighter by all means, but the overall sound of the album is very pastoral and a couple of songs could have easily gone on the soundtrack to 'the Wicker Man.'

My favourite tracks are Miri It Is, My Body Is Made Of Sunlight and Power To The Pixies.

I recommend this album to Wicker Man enthusiasts, Morris Dancers, Real Ale lovers and Folk Progsters everywhere.

While it can be assumed that many a psych cum prog folk band from the late 1960s and early 1970s thought they could gain an edge in a crowded field by consuming illicit substances, less is known of the non pharmaceutical habits of current bands of this ilk, other than their numbers have drawn down over 5 decades of corporate pop. But in the case of CIRCULUS, a medieval British group that wears their preferred century literally on their sleeves, apparently certain subjects of the Kingdom of Fungi have been summoned as inspiration along with long departed Celtic royalty like "Philip the Good" of Brittany. This herd of cats shepherded by Michael Tyack was without a record deal for the better part of their first decade, but were signed to the doom metal but open minded label Rise Above", under the auspices of which they released "The LIck on..".

One might be forgiven for assuming that the visuals would be the most exciting aspect to the band, but on their debut they have integrated a host of influences from the golden era into their distinguished vision. Bands like COMUS, SPIROGYRA, and INCREDIBLE STRING BAND are likely influences on the Olde English axis while others like STRAWBS, DECAMERON, and PENTANGLE seem to have inspired the more reserved English folk rock building blocks. While the 40 odd minute album length might be retro, the production is crystalline and the band marshals more technology in the form of confident lead guitar, synthesizers and other keys than would be the typical bill of fare, without sounding out of place amongst the citterns, flutes and crumhorns.

Most impressive are the opening three tracks, "Miri" with its wayward yet spot on harmonies and rock backing leads into the stunning and hypnotic "My Body is Made of Sunlight" which Spotify deemed appropriate for my introduction to the band a month or so back. "The Scarecrow" is of nearly the same quality, but where they sound most like DECAMERON circa "First Light", though not the "Scarecrow" piece from that album. After these brilliant numbers the album settles back a bit. "We are long lost" gets the nomination for most disappointing denouement after an eerie expectant opening, being overly reliant on repetitive lyrics that sound like they were an afterthought. "Swallow" is pleasant enough and tends to get the most attention due to the participation of Marianne Segal on vocals from the early psych folk outfit JADE, but it's a bit lost in the jumble. Two instrumentals spotlight the band's predilection for ambient and trance like arrangements, with "The Aphid" being by far the better, sounding like a fresh take on the lengthy break on STEPPENWOLF's "Magic Carpet Ride". "Power to the Pixies" is a solid closer, embracing ancient mythology, which I'd like to think is what CIRCULUS likes to think they are about.

This is a refreshing perspective on several endearing styles that have taken a licking in recent decades but endure. 3.5 stars. Thanks, Circulus!

If the tripped-out cover art and whimsical album title didn't give it away, the LARP-tastic band photos on the interior of The Lick On the Tip of an Envelope Yet To Be Sent gives it away: Circulus are very much throwback kids, a musical project intent on recapturing the spirit of those freak folk bands of late 1960s/early 1970s Britain who liked to attempt to evoke an medieval atmosphere without necessarily knowing that much about authentic medieval music - but still being dab hands at blending acoustic guitar-focused folk music with tripped out psychedelic contributions via keyboard and synthesiser.

Let's face it: you either love this sort of stuff or cannot possibly see the appeal, but for my money I reckon this is a pretty decent example of this sort of thing. Whether there's all that much substance here beyond the schtick is another matter, and I tend to find that listening to the album just makes me want to go and revisit the band's various influences yet again, but if you can't get enough of this sort of thing this is inoffensive.