When former Saosin lead singer Anthony Green left Saosin to form a new project in the mid-2000’s it was soul-crushing to 15 year old me. I was an avid fan of their 2003 EP Translating The Name and couldn’t imagine a world in which they wouldn’t be making music together.
It all worked out in the end however. Green’s new project Circa Survive took all of the harmonic heaviness of Saosin, popped a tab of LSD, and came out on the other side with a surreal piece of artistic ingenuity that pushed the boundaries of what post-hardcore music could be.
Circa Survive’s brand of post-hardcore rock has always carried a bit more authority than their counterparts due to the sheer breadth of their musical range. On Letting Go is the band’s second album and always felt to me like their definitive work. It sounds like a band who was beginning to fully come into their own but was still filled with the wonder of what surprises lay in store every time they stepped into the recording studio. The album is ascendant and grandiose and kind of a head trip all at the same time. It listens like a half awoken dream, fuzzy on its edges but filled with a clarity through its center that hold everything together.
The obvious element which makes it work Anthony Green. Green’s prolific artistic output as both a member of multiple bands (he currently fronts four of them) as well as a solo artist has basically made him the Prince of Post-Hardcore. His androgynous vocal style that floats and cascades between softly spoken lead parts and screeching highs is everything you could ever ask for in a frontman and then some. And while Green is the star of the show, the band backing him elevates his ruminations to the heavens. Guitarists Colin Frangicetto and Brendan Ekstrom divy up lead parts and trade licks that mutate and transform before your eyes, providing a soaring and emotional counterpart to Green’s vocals. On top of that, criminally underrated drummer Steve Clifford is top of his class. His syncopation and oddly accentuated drum beats are all over the place and provide an ever-shifting canvas that allows bassist Nick Beard to paint underneath the glowing colors. It’s progressive post-rock in its highest form.
For my money there’s no better album opener in post-hardcore history than “Living Together” whose guitar bends sound like pained cries sent cascading down from the heavens. It’s a song so good I used it for years as the intro to a San Jose Sharks podcast called “FTF Live” that I ran with my friend during the late aughts and early 2010’s and has stuck with me ever since.
If you’re looking for one of the defining albums in progressive post-hardcore history look no further. On Letting Go is your ticket to a surreal world that sounds like it was crafted by Salvador Dali.
Standout Songs: “Living Together”, “The Difference Between Medicine and Poison Is In The Dose”, “The Greatest Lie”, “Kicking Your Crosses Down”, “Close Your Eyes To See”
