Circulus - The Lick On The Tip Of An Envelope Yet To Be Sent (2005)

Circulus - The Lick On The Tip Of An Envelope Yet To Be Sent (2005)

It's embarrassingly easy to dismiss Circulus as a joke when you first hear them. In fact, throughout my first listen to this album, I thought of a number of snarky lines I could use to begin this review, including, but certainly not limited to:

• "Imagine a bunch of LARPer's got together and decided to record a theme song for themselves but accidentally started a band in the process..."

• "Imagine a group of people were eating at Denny's after the Renaissance Fair and thought to themselves: "There aren't enough flute-based bands out there. We should do something about that"..."

• "You know that group of D & D nerds that you went to high school with? Welp, here's what they've been up to lately..."
  

Then something interesting happens: you start to notice that they're actually good, and it throws a kink in that hilarious review you had in mind that had all but written itself before the album had even ended. The same song that made you laugh when it first started catches your attention later when you realize how beautifully arranged it is. Then you notice that the guitar solo on the next song is excellent. And then another song comes on later that sounds like it came straight out of a 1960's greatest hits collection. Then you start to silently curse Circulus for making themselves so difficult to pin down. It's as if they've come up to you personally, held up a middle finger and said "We care not for thou witty hyperboles, foul miscreant. Be gone." Except you don't get mad and instead start thinking that maybe you really are a foul miscreant. It's all very epiphanous, actually.

Seeing as this is a psychedelic freak-folk album, it would be easy for me to compare The Lick to Comus' eponymous 1971 album, First Utterance. Thankfully, I've never been known for my Puritan work ethic, so that's exactly what I'm going to do. All of the elements are there: the medieval atmosphere. The male/female vocal arrangements. The weird lyrical allegories. Cynics could probably argue that the only significant difference between the two albums is 34 years. With closer inspection, however, it's clear that Circulus is more than just a tribute band. They carve their own niche and have their own sound that, while similar to Comus, is all their own. Which is hard to do in such an obscure genre.

There's a lyric on the song "We Are Long Lost " that says "If we don't believe in fantasy, we are lost". Judging by the general weirdness of this album, along with the pictures in the booklet that show, among other images, the band jollily skipping along an open field in Renaissance outfits, I'd be surprised if this lyric were not directed at Circulus themselves. I couldn't imagine the members of this band existing comfortably in a modern Western world, but as long as they're giving us music like this while trapped in the fantasy world they've created, I'm not going to hate on how they choose to carry out their lives......the friggin' weirdos.


Score: 8/10

"My Body Is Made Of Sunlight"


"Swallow"

Exuma - Exuma (1970)

Exuma - Exuma (1970*)
*original release year; 2003 re-release reviewed here

Wow, this album was a great find. Mixing elements of freak folk, soul, reggae, and African rhythms (among many other styles), Exuma's long forgotten and criminally ignored debut album is a masterpiece. Think of how a Caribbean version of Comus' First Utterance would sound and you might get something that sounds like this. Many of the album's seven tracks could have (or should have) been classics. But aside from being well composed, much of the album's appeal comes from its lyrical themes relating to voodoo and zombies and other such stereotypically cool-sounding stuff.

Looking up the biography of the mysterious man known as Exuma, the Obeah Man, I found out that he wasn't so mysterious after all; his real name was Tony. I stopped reading after that. Similar to such musicians as Robert Johnson or Sun Ra, knowing little factual information does so much to add to the character of his music. You know that Robert Johnson didn't sell his soul to the devil and you know that Sun Ra didn't come from outer space to make music on earth, but hot damn does that add to their appeal. It's the power of myth. I'm not sure if Exuma really believed that he came to earth on a lightning bolt with "fire and brimstone coming out of [his] mouth", but it makes for one hell of an interesting listen.

Even without the mythical appeal, this album is the very definition of an underground treasure. His music didn't find much of an audience in his lifetime. Hopefully such an error can be corrected in a new generation.

Score: 9/10


"Dambala"


"You Don't Know What's Going On"