The You Suck Flying Circus Perform Richly Billowing Post-Metal On Captivating New LP

/​/​/​/​/​/​/​-​/​/​-​/​/​/​/​/ — a November album from the Ohio project known as The You Suck Flying Circus — feels rather majestic. On their latest album, the ambitious-sounding group performs a kind of physically intense post-metal, with a helluva lot of billowing, rich texture flowing through the mix.

As the album gets going, track one — which is called “Two Angels” — mellows out a bit towards the end. Subsequently, track two rolls back into a beefy metallic intensity before retreating into some strikingly peaceful ambiance, which in turn leads into the rather epic and somewhat somber (but not crushingly bleak-feeling) conclusion. Arriving at that conclusion feels like stumbling across a geyser amidst a broader teeming landscape.

The music, as a whole, feels like examining some corners of this metaphorical landscape. Each melody running through the songs feels rather strikingly poignant all on its own, and the group rolls out their musical creations with a resounding force, which gives the music the kind of secured certainty that comes with sun shining brightly. There’s a captivatingly strong sense of certitude. The band’s flow feels organically dynamic, like a living thing, and the whole record feels urgent, as if in the sound of the instrumentation itself — which frequently takes center-stage over any lyrics — the group is capturing an emotional outpouring in real time. The security in the rhythms, which don’t really feel overly chaotic, makes the music feel rather focused in the here-and-now.

Texture-wise, lots of the riffing feels hoarse, but the melodies feel quite free-flowing, balancing the hardcore edge into a broader musical portrait. Even within the heaviest moments, across track three, the opening of track four, and elsewhere, there’s a real palpable breathability in the songs, as if the music’s soul is on display. Track five, called “A Glimmer of Hope,” features some of the most consistently intense riffing on the record — and the song ends with a peaceful violin melody taking the spotlight.

From a listening perspective, the heaviness of the music feels pensive, like a moment for poignant rounds of self-contemplation. On track four, called “Existing Only In Photographs,” the musicians of The You Suck Flying Circus smoothly alternate between heavier segments and a beefily intense, angular musical stroll. The music feels heavy, but not suffocating, so there’s a looming feeling of wistfulness in the tracks, like leaping into the wind. The concluding track, with its steady build into further intensity, infuses the emotional majesty with some real power.

/​/​/​/​/​/​/​-​/​/​-​/​/​/​/​/ is available via Flowerpot Records.

5/5 Stars

Listen to the album below!