"Am I attempting living right?" Drew Riekman asks in "Redefine," the pensive, winding opener from Blessed's sophomore LP Circuitous. Riekman, the Canadian band's vocalist and guitarist, asks only a few questions throughout the record. Much of his lyrics scan as poetic explorations of personal struggles: part soul-searching, part cryptic, abstract thoughts woven with existential brushstrokes. But for an experimental post-punk band that embraces their instincts, embodies their values, and with each release offers new developments to their sound, "am I attempting living right?" seems to be a question worth asking.
Derived from a wealth of demos and jam sessions that were reduced to eight tracks, Circuitous presents a more unified vision compared to Blessed's previous output, incorporates more formal structures, and reins in some volatilities while honing their sweeping builds and cathartic returns. Blessed noted acts like Mount Kimbie, Liquid Liquid and Unwound as influences, and while Circuitous' sonic similarities to these vary, their adventurous approaches seem to provide the greatest link.
"Redefine" addresses work-related struggles that can lead to feelings of inadequacy ("We're only here to foot the bill, disposable") over warm, delicate plucked tones and an off-kilter pattering keeping aloft some of the most beautiful vocal melodies that Riekman's committed to tape. Of course, it wouldn't be a Blessed tune without some twists, as its final section diverges into sparkling keys and then ramps up before fizzling out. Silvery, syncopated and serpentine, "Anything" confronts the notion passed to many since youth that working hard enough will get them anything they want. While the notion contains threads of truth in theory, it's much more complicated in reality, and in turn tends to promote competition and individualism over community and commonality. Circuitous, in its sound, design and roundabout nature, takes the long way in lifting listeners to its new ways of seeing.
"Peeling" drones hauntingly and hypnotically while standout "Agoraphobia" raises hackles with its buzzing backbone, chilly chants and rippling arpeggios. The uneasy "Provoked" is the longest track, weaving through groaning bass, chiming guitars and alt, math, and post-rock elements, showcasing the group's knack for engaging ebb and flow. In its restrained moments, slow-burner "Person" hints at softer songs by acts like Radiohead but stands out for its powerful shout-along chorus and Riekman and Reuben Houweling's fiery guitars and engulfing fuzz, with the former at the end sounding like he's channelling Chino Moreno on a comedown.
From ringing notes and a menacing staccato drum pattern, "Trust" builds an immense amount of pressure. "Hey / You know what's best for me / I trust you / Implicitly," Riekman declares, but his words and Mitchell Trainor's stalking bass hint at something else. "Windows black, no sound" – the mood shifts. "The soil, the earth, it's gone away / The sun, the light, everything / And me, I sit, forget to think / The air I breathe, it's dark and grey" – the drama elevates, moving from Preoccupations-like bleakness to a crushing Swans-esque lurch (John Congleton mixed both Circuitous and To Be Kind). With its rolling synths and hefty krautrock pulse, closer "Guillotine" kicks up the intensity but takes a striking turn around two and a half minutes as distressed, dissonant guitars are backed by Jake Holmes' hammered drums, evoking something like a slightly subdued You Won't Get What You Want-era Daughters. Soon enough they make it through, and after all the commotion a twinkling sequencer helps bring the band back to the light.
Despite the fact that Blessed used more synthesizers, MIDI, programming and sequencers throughout the recording of Circuitous — and despite the record's steely, future-industrial artwork — there's a lot of warmth tucked in its knotty structures. Riekman isn't shy of exploring life's more challenging demons, using Circuitous to confront experiences with agoraphobia, grief, isolation, and capitalist control and its resulting numbness. And regardless of the album's slightly limited tonal palette, their use of new textures and equipment serves to enhance the conflicts, moods and emotions that flow between the themes they tackle.
There's much to be said for keeping faith in the unconventional. In their relatively compact yet sidelong journeys, Blessed has done so while carrying an ethos of openness. On Circuitous, their songwriting and production skills are sharpened — their performances refined. Leaning into exquisite sprawl and their trademark tension and release, Circuitous' is hyperreal art rock set on searching for and shining a light on life's shadows and darkened corridors, trying to make some unconventional sense of the anxieties that keep one awake.
(Flemish Eye Records)Derived from a wealth of demos and jam sessions that were reduced to eight tracks, Circuitous presents a more unified vision compared to Blessed's previous output, incorporates more formal structures, and reins in some volatilities while honing their sweeping builds and cathartic returns. Blessed noted acts like Mount Kimbie, Liquid Liquid and Unwound as influences, and while Circuitous' sonic similarities to these vary, their adventurous approaches seem to provide the greatest link.
"Redefine" addresses work-related struggles that can lead to feelings of inadequacy ("We're only here to foot the bill, disposable") over warm, delicate plucked tones and an off-kilter pattering keeping aloft some of the most beautiful vocal melodies that Riekman's committed to tape. Of course, it wouldn't be a Blessed tune without some twists, as its final section diverges into sparkling keys and then ramps up before fizzling out. Silvery, syncopated and serpentine, "Anything" confronts the notion passed to many since youth that working hard enough will get them anything they want. While the notion contains threads of truth in theory, it's much more complicated in reality, and in turn tends to promote competition and individualism over community and commonality. Circuitous, in its sound, design and roundabout nature, takes the long way in lifting listeners to its new ways of seeing.
"Peeling" drones hauntingly and hypnotically while standout "Agoraphobia" raises hackles with its buzzing backbone, chilly chants and rippling arpeggios. The uneasy "Provoked" is the longest track, weaving through groaning bass, chiming guitars and alt, math, and post-rock elements, showcasing the group's knack for engaging ebb and flow. In its restrained moments, slow-burner "Person" hints at softer songs by acts like Radiohead but stands out for its powerful shout-along chorus and Riekman and Reuben Houweling's fiery guitars and engulfing fuzz, with the former at the end sounding like he's channelling Chino Moreno on a comedown.
From ringing notes and a menacing staccato drum pattern, "Trust" builds an immense amount of pressure. "Hey / You know what's best for me / I trust you / Implicitly," Riekman declares, but his words and Mitchell Trainor's stalking bass hint at something else. "Windows black, no sound" – the mood shifts. "The soil, the earth, it's gone away / The sun, the light, everything / And me, I sit, forget to think / The air I breathe, it's dark and grey" – the drama elevates, moving from Preoccupations-like bleakness to a crushing Swans-esque lurch (John Congleton mixed both Circuitous and To Be Kind). With its rolling synths and hefty krautrock pulse, closer "Guillotine" kicks up the intensity but takes a striking turn around two and a half minutes as distressed, dissonant guitars are backed by Jake Holmes' hammered drums, evoking something like a slightly subdued You Won't Get What You Want-era Daughters. Soon enough they make it through, and after all the commotion a twinkling sequencer helps bring the band back to the light.
Despite the fact that Blessed used more synthesizers, MIDI, programming and sequencers throughout the recording of Circuitous — and despite the record's steely, future-industrial artwork — there's a lot of warmth tucked in its knotty structures. Riekman isn't shy of exploring life's more challenging demons, using Circuitous to confront experiences with agoraphobia, grief, isolation, and capitalist control and its resulting numbness. And regardless of the album's slightly limited tonal palette, their use of new textures and equipment serves to enhance the conflicts, moods and emotions that flow between the themes they tackle.
There's much to be said for keeping faith in the unconventional. In their relatively compact yet sidelong journeys, Blessed has done so while carrying an ethos of openness. On Circuitous, their songwriting and production skills are sharpened — their performances refined. Leaning into exquisite sprawl and their trademark tension and release, Circuitous' is hyperreal art rock set on searching for and shining a light on life's shadows and darkened corridors, trying to make some unconventional sense of the anxieties that keep one awake.