Circa Survive revealed yesterday that they're going on indefinite hiatus after nearly 20 years as a band, but not before putting out Two Dreams, a vinyl releasing that compiles their two recent EPs, A Dream About Death and A Dream About Love. The record hits shelves on December 16 via Rise, and we've teamed with them on an exclusive golden marble vinyl variant, limited to just 500 copies. Pre-order yours while they last.
Writing about these EPs earlier this year, we said: As good as Circa Survive's 2010s run was, the music they've been making in the 2020s is some of their best yet. It's unlike anything they've ever done before, but still sounds distinctly like Circa Survive. It feels as fresh in 2022 as Juturna did in 2005, and even saying the band sound reinvigorated would be an understatement. "I don't know if even back in the day I had the capacity to feel as excited as I do now," Anthony told us in a recent interview. The band's new sound began on last year's A Dream About Love EP, one of the best punk (umbrella term) EPs of 2021, and it continues on their new EP A Dream About Death, out today (2/4) on Rise Records. For a band whose classic sound was often defined by interlocking lead guitars, it's both unexpected and thrilling to hear them writing songs where guitars take a backseat or sometimes aren't even used at all. A Dream About Death is fueled by a collage of buzzing synths, glitchy beats, lush pianos, and all kinds of electronic manipulation, and as ever, Anthony Green's unmistakable voice leads the way. You'd never call these songs "post-hardcore" or "emo" or even "rock"; it's more like a swirling concoction of art pop, psychedelia, and a hint of industrial that shares more DNA with Kid A or Bjork or the new Low album than with anybody who played Warped Tour in the mid 2000s. And it feels like an entirely natural progression for Circa Survive.
It's exciting to hear a veteran band undergoing such a drastic evolution over 15 years into their career, but it's even more exciting how well these songs stand on their own, regardless of any context. You don't have to be a longtime fan or know anything about the band's history to get into these EPs; these songs feel as fresh in 2022 as just about anything coming out of the indie world lately. Often, they feel even fresher. In an age where so much of the indie zeitgeist is intentionally retro, the Dream EPs sound entirely futuristic. These EPs don't sound like Juturna and On Letting Go, but they do the same thing Circa Survive was doing in the 2000s; they're accessible enough to exist within the world of current popular music, but they occupy a lane of their own. The world is still playing catchup to the path Circa Survive forged on Juturna, and Circa themselves aren't waiting around for anyone to get there. They're onto new frontiers.
Read our recent Circa Survive interview for much more, and pick up our new vinyl variant of Two Dreams here.