Memorial

Sargent House

Street: 10.29

Russian Circles = Mono + Pelican + Red Sparowes

When did Russian Circles transition from a second-tier post-rock band to a peerless post-everything behemoth of hair-trigger precision and cathartic terror-beauty? Russian Circles have been playing lately like the mid-’00s post-rock boom never happened. Instead, they reach deep into the substrate mined by former tour mates like ISIS and Boris and reach the heart of what makes these bands so vital and innovative: the ability to reach transcendent highs and brutal lows with the technical ability to actually pull it all off.

There aren’t too many bands making music like what is heard on Memorial, a roaring cacophony of tremolo-picked upswells of guitar noise that turns on a dime to leaden riffage with a lower-than-low bass line that punches you straight in your face that was already trying to hold back a flow of tears—highly recommended. –Ryan Hall