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Written by Mary Beth Hascall Monday, 02 June 2008 13:36

Station proves that this Windy City group has grown together as musicians over the past few years.

Some may immediately dismiss a band without vocals as they would a table without legs: useless. Though minus the traditional lead vocalist, Russian Circles deserves a chance to prove leery listeners wrong. With wonderful sonic melodies and well-crafted songs, Station showcases some amazing instrumentation that makes one forget about vocals. Who needs a mediocre voice ruining the music anyway?

This four-year-old Chicago trio has a knack for drawing listeners into its music and constantly toying with your expectations of where the musical journey is about to go. It is this raw, unexpectedness that makes for an appreciative fan.

Station proves that this Windy City group has grown together as musicians over the past few years. Each musician plays off of the others just like seasoned jazz players do. Mike Sullivan's guitar melodies intertwine in well-structured ways with the ever changing drumming, provided by the talents of Dave Turncrantz. The balanced bass notes of Brian Cook round out the band's improvised flow.

"Harper Lewis" moves from soft to riff-driven pounding without compromising the cohesiveness of the song. "Station," the album's title track, is hard-nosed and might be mistaken for noise to the virgin metal-eared public.

Halfway through, "Verses" is a gorgeous and delicate guitar melody that builds into a full sound with the drums keeping pace. It feels like the climax of a great movie moment followed by the heavy realization that things are not always as they seem in life.

There are many different emotions and moods set by Station making it a little challenging to pierce with a descriptive pin. With only six songs, Station appears to be a short LP; however, each tune clocks in around eight minutes. Amazingly, the album never feels long or loses its flow from one song to the next. Each note and song has its creative place. Thus, the band provides a fresh feel to the standard LP recording.

Truly, Russian Circles packs an aural punch that inexperienced music listeners will love immediately, or will learn to love after a second listen. A | Mary Beth Hascall

RIYL: Isis, Muse