REFLECTIONS IN THE HOURGLASS

I wasn't a fan of Soniq Circus before seeing them live at Slottskogen Goes Progressive 2011. My initial opinion was based entirely on the 3-4 spins of their debut album which had some potential but ultimately was a slight disappointment considering the amounts of talent hidden within the collective. The band had, since then, made a few changes in the lineup with the most prominent one being the loss of their former lead vocalist. Marcus Enochsson is doubling both as the band's guitarist and vocalist. This doesn't seem to be much of a problem since he's quite a charismatic character who clearly knows his audience and therefore mixes in the esthetics of Peter Gabriel in his performance.

I was clearly intrigued by some of the new material that was performed at that show so giving Soniq Circus another go felt like a given. Unfortunately, my enthusiasm was shattered by the initial few spins of the hour long Reflections In The Hourglass. I even began writing down my remarks for a potential review which included memorable lines like: "...can't get in tune with the material...", "...no memorable hooks..." and "...nothing that irritates but neither impresses me too much...". It's funny how ones opinions can drastically change even over relatively short time, but fortunately it did and I actually began to enjoy what was offered on this release.

Granted that I'm still not too keen on the two opening tracks, the album really begins to shine with the relatively short but very memorable Actor, followed by the masterpiece Shadow Dance. This track has everything I love about Soniq Circus like vibrant buildups, quirky lyrics and memorable instrumental moments, but most importantly, it doesn't overstay its welcome even when considering the 8+ minute composition format!

The album continues on a few more high notes with both By The Heartshaped Lake and Learning To Talk being very strong progressive compositions that keep my interest up leading up to the final highlight Outside The Hourglass 4am. This is simply a triumphant conclusion to this loosely linked concept album that almost makes me interested in the proposed idea of listening to the album in real time between 3 and 4 AM, but I'll take a raincheck for the time being.

Soniq Circus have clearly created a solid progressive rock album that I'm sure that fans of both Symphonic Prog and Heavy Prog will find very appealing. Give Reflections In The Hourglass a go if you haven't done so already!

***** star songs: Actor (5:11) Shadow Dance (8:33) Outside The Hourglass 4am (7:39)

*** star songs: By The Heartshaped Lake (11:04) Learning To Talk (7:32)

*** star songs: Inside The Hourglass 3am (7:53) Formula (9:51) Childbirth (2:34)

Share this SONIQ CIRCUS review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to Rune2000
• Report this review (#531666)
• Buy SONIQ CIRCUS music online with PA partners
• Show all SONIQ CIRCUS MP3/Stream
• Go to SONIQ CIRCUS page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to Reflections in the Hourglass page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for SONIQ CIRCUS related discussions