But this album could be described as Theatrical or Art-Rock in many ways. The use of Cello and other strings add some to it, along with piano.
The vocals vary, almost to the point I wonder if there's more than 1 lead singer. At times their singer sounds a bit like Tim DeLaughter of The Polyphonic Spree.
But this is without question prog rock. A rather notice-able Pink Floyd influence in the textures and moody, ambient at times, instrumental sections.
Another comparison could be The Dresden Dolls in a way. The Red Paintings get compared to them, so that doesn't surprise me.
But at the same time, the combination of styles, strings, melodramatic/operatic elements (esp with the vocals), heavier sections, and psychedelic parts kind of make this pretty original sounding. Even just the vocals at times sound pretty distinct.
This should be getting more mileage in the coming weeks for me. Hopefully others as well. And the fact they reside in the US, the chances of seeing them live seems pretty realistic (compared to many other bands from down under, namely).
http://battlecircus.bandcamp.com/
1. Beggar Turns Thief 06:15
2. Send In The Clones 03:46
3. Galacticus 04:14
4. Crush 05:25
5. Much Like Mescaline 14:08
6. Clockwork 06:53
7. Coup de Silence 04:41
8. Flying Machine 09:26
9. Utopium 05:05
10.Discord 05:24
I haven't heard this yet. The brief story about this band; they're originally from New Zealand, and released some kind of debut LP in 2007 titled The Half-Light Symphony. I checked them out not all that long after via a friend on the Ours forum.
Their style of music was kind of similar to Muse. Sort of heavy, riffy, poppy, college-prog. And their singer at times reminded me of Matt Bellamy. So the truth was, I kind of found them a bit derivative, but the songwriting from the samples sounded a bit promising.
I do recall hearing about their next album coming soon, maybe as far back as late in 2009. 2010 I recall putting it on my anticipation list. It never came out of course. Then maybe 2 months ago I saw them post about releasing a new single and touring and now residing in the USA (New Jersey I think?). The new single or Self-Titled EP I checked out I probably liked more than anything I'd heard from them before.
So, now with this record, I think the bar and excitement to hear it has been raised a little. Another band I suppose some might compare them to would be the mysterious Art (visual and metaphorical) rock band The Red Paintings who also originate from down under. But unlike TRP's, it finally seems these guys are showing some activity outside of their native country. And on record (when The Red Paintings fan-funded album will come out? who knows).
The above bandcamp link is a name-your-price digital album (at this point). If this is even half as good as I hope, I shall be naming a pretty reasonable (digital) price soon.
2.0/edits/to-be-added-to in due time...