Music Banter - View Single Post

TockTockTock · 06-17-2011, 10:50 AM

Circle X (1978 - 1995)

General Information

Circle X, a criminally overlooked act of the No Wave movement, was a post-punk/noise rock/art rock band that was formed in Louisville, Kentucky in 1978. Originally, Circle X's name was simply meant to be a symbol -- a circle with an x inside (kind of obvious), but it had to be changed into proper lettering enable to label the band's name and album without any difficulty. I'm not entirely sure why they chose that name... They were fairly rebellious people, and they were just about anti-everything…. Anti-mainstream labels, anti-independent labels, anti-professionalism, anti-classicism, and probably a bunch of other stuff… So, perhaps they felt the need to rebel and reject a proper name for their band?

Band Members

► Bruce Witsiepe
► Tony Pinotti
► Dave Letendre
► Rik Latendre

Album Review

Prehistory One (1983)

Track Listing

1. Current................... 6:22
2. Prehistory (Part I)..... 5:12
3. Prehistory (Part II).... 5:17
4. Culture Progress....... 6:32
5. Underworld.............. 7:55
6. Beyond Standard...... 4:35

Total Length: 35:53

When I first listened to this album, I was vacuuming around the house. The mixture of the album's music and the vehement roar of the vacuum cleaner gave birth to a somewhat loud ambiance (if that even makes any sense). I'll admit that it didn't really catch my attention at first, and I soon became a bit disheartened by the idea of writing a review for yet ANOTHER uninteresting album. Fortunately, I gave it another listen... and by just sitting down and listening to it I was able to differentiate the sounds better. Noisy albums tend to do that... They demand your full attention enable for you to fully appreciate and digest it. Anyways... in comparison to the previous releases that I have reviewed on this thread... this one, so far, is the best. There is so much going on in this album... The sometimes "sloppy" polyrhythmic (invented a word) percussion, various noisy guitar parts going on at once, babies squealing, power tools being turned on, psychedelic-like electronics occasionally entering in and out of a piece, vocals ranging anywhere from a scratchy and unintelligible yell to just a deadpan voice, and so much more... Strangely enough, this album can be pretty mellow and sometimes psychedelic with its intermittent sparse instrumentation and echoey vocals and electronics (or keyboards... not entirely sure what it is).

All in all, this is an almost brilliant album... It is strongly recommended for those who wish to explore a bit more into the No Wave movement. Also, I would recommend you listen to their self-titled EP, which was released in 1979.

My Rating: 9/10

06-17-2011, 10:50 AM	#23 (permalink)
TockTockTock They/Them Join Date: Nov 2010 Posts: 1,914	Circle X (1978 - 1995) General Information Circle X, a criminally overlooked act of the No Wave movement, was a post-punk/noise rock/art rock band that was formed in Louisville, Kentucky in 1978. Originally, Circle X's name was simply meant to be a symbol -- a circle with an x inside (kind of obvious), but it had to be changed into proper lettering enable to label the band's name and album without any difficulty. I'm not entirely sure why they chose that name... They were fairly rebellious people, and they were just about anti-everything…. Anti-mainstream labels, anti-independent labels, anti-professionalism, anti-classicism, and probably a bunch of other stuff… So, perhaps they felt the need to rebel and reject a proper name for their band? Band Members ► Bruce Witsiepe ► Tony Pinotti ► Dave Letendre ► Rik Latendre Album Review Prehistory One (1983) Track Listing 1. Current................... 6:22 2. Prehistory (Part I)..... 5:12 3. Prehistory (Part II).... 5:17 4. Culture Progress....... 6:32 5. Underworld.............. 7:55 6. Beyond Standard...... 4:35 Total Length: 35:53 When I first listened to this album, I was vacuuming around the house. The mixture of the album's music and the vehement roar of the vacuum cleaner gave birth to a somewhat loud ambiance (if that even makes any sense). I'll admit that it didn't really catch my attention at first, and I soon became a bit disheartened by the idea of writing a review for yet ANOTHER uninteresting album. Fortunately, I gave it another listen... and by just sitting down and listening to it I was able to differentiate the sounds better. Noisy albums tend to do that... They demand your full attention enable for you to fully appreciate and digest it. Anyways... in comparison to the previous releases that I have reviewed on this thread... this one, so far, is the best. There is so much going on in this album... The sometimes "sloppy" polyrhythmic (invented a word) percussion, various noisy guitar parts going on at once, babies squealing, power tools being turned on, psychedelic-like electronics occasionally entering in and out of a piece, vocals ranging anywhere from a scratchy and unintelligible yell to just a deadpan voice, and so much more... Strangely enough, this album can be pretty mellow and sometimes psychedelic with its intermittent sparse instrumentation and echoey vocals and electronics (or keyboards... not entirely sure what it is). All in all, this is an almost brilliant album... It is strongly recommended for those who wish to explore a bit more into the No Wave movement. Also, I would recommend you listen to their self-titled EP, which was released in 1979. My Rating: 9/10 Last edited by TockTockTock; 06-17-2011 at 02:08 PM.