MOVIN' ON

Hailing from Switzerland "Circus" creates their sophomore album "Movion" devoid of any electric guitar.

Not to contradict the classics, but sometimes the true gems of progressive rock are hidden in projects as "unknown" as this one. I mean, Circus doesn't seem to be the most unknown band of the genre to exist, but it definitely doesn't have the fame and doesn't receive the acclaim and love that bands like Yes ? deservedly, in fact ? receive. I've been seeing this cover of "Movin' On" in my apple music mixes for a long time, just as I've been visiting this section of the site looking for something to listen to because I didn't really know what to listen to. This album always seemed interesting to me, but I never really felt like listening to it. Today I ended up choosing it to listen to and man, I should have done that a long time ago.

This album sounds quite country but at the same time with a kind of old-school urban vibe, I don't know. I don't think that's exactly what matters, what matters is thinking about the feelings that are brought by the band in this brilliant release. The flute is an instrument that has a very interesting sound here and that brings a very medieval feeling ala Jethro Tull, like walking in the woods and picking apples straight from the trees or something like that. There is a very erudite essence here, but when the band moves towards the jazz side, with very groovy and infectious arrangements, it is much more modern and extremely catchy. I think that more than analyzing landscapes and synesthesias, we have to appreciate rich arrangements and truly fascinating textures that this album brings us in such a wonderful way.

Quite folky and pastoral grove-sounding, the dynamics on "The Bandsman" are beautiful. Love the vocals and the piccolo flute is very beautiful, not to mention the energetic and fun bass playing that brings Chris Squire to mind so wonderfully. Saxophone comes amazing as the track shifts its shape in a gorgeous sound, from more rocky to jazzier. "Laughter Lane" continues similarly, with some cool vibraphone here and there that is such a beautiful addition ? not to mention flute and saxophone, that make an amazing job in the song as it develops its groovy and fantastic soundscape. "Loveless Time" sounds so amazing, I love the groovy bass playing and the fascinating. The track develops a beautiful sound with gorgeous vocals and exceptional drumming. Fascinating arrangement. "Dawn" diverges a lot from the groovy and pastoral vibes of these previous tracks, despite having its own eclectic soundscape anyways. The track opens with animal sounds and develops a very avant-prog sound, with the vibraphone twinkling in a way that immediately puts "Lark's Tongues In Aspic" in my head. The song follows this quite avant-garde formula but not too much, there's some fun dynamics and exceptional bass playing, specially. Drums and saxophone develop wonderfully and as the track continues its eerie yet fascinating instrumental, we're lead to the longest track on the abum; the 22-minute long epic "Movin' On".

The song actually begins with tension between the instruments in a slightly avant-garde way, I'd say. Bass playing and drumming carry it in a marvelous way. The song develops with the vocals as the track reaches a very Yes-sounding atmosphere ? in fact, it is very Yes-sounding throughout the entire thing, for sure. The drums, bass, avant-garde sequences and cryptic flute all create a very fascinating atmosphere. It's a rich song, through its entirety, completely mesmerizing, in saxophones, vocals bathed in mystery, an atmosphere that grows darker and with some amazing dynamics and complexities. What an awe-inspiring masterpiece this is. "Movin' On" is so good, so mesmerizing and with such intriguing full band arrangement. Amazing jam.

The band has a fascinating instrumentation, where saxophones and flute ? specifically a piccolo flute, I believe, since it has that higher-pitched sound that is quite characteristic ? take the lead in numerous moments to create a fascinating and very captivating atmosphere. We can see the incredible work of bass and drums, especially the former, which brings a sonority reminiscent of Yes, in a very characteristic but definitely unique way, since Circus develops its own sonority and its own evident and intriguing talent. I can sometimes understand why many people don't like progressive rock, but in this case, I think that not liking this album exclusively means not understanding it. Circus brings something vast and completely wonderful throughout this project, so that in every tiny part of the arrangement, the band brings such impressive nuances and such great talent that it makes the album incredible, exuberant and truly brilliant from beginning to end. I was expecting something but this here was even more impressive, certainly. Circus brings us a rich and incredible album from start to finish, a vast and super captivating project, where each song has its own unique characteristics, but which end up coming together in the end in a project that sounds very good together. The brilliance of the Swiss band is nothing short of impressive and throughout everything done here, extremely intriguing and majestic. What more can I say? Listen to this album! This is a progressive rock gem, absolutely. I say 4.5 stars.

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