Gavin Harrison & 05RIC - Circles (2009)
©KScope
United Kingdom
Tracklist:
- Circles
- Source
- Last Call
- Crisis
- Faith
- Scar
- Break
- Beyond The 'A'
- Eye
- Goodbye
Circles, a solo project by Porcupine Tree’s elite drummer Gavin Harrison, is and is not what you’d expect. It is not an ‘in your face’ progressive rock album or similar to Porcupine Tree in any way, rather, it's a drum clinic put to album by a somewhat over shadowed co-performer (multi instrument musician/vocalist) 05RIC. That’s not to take anything away from 05RIC’s performance, but that's exactly what it is. How could one imagine Gavin Harrison not being in the spotlight of his own solo project?
My overall impression is that this is a rather chill, jazzy fusion progressive experience, albeit not a ground breaking release. Think of a dimmed down Planet X merged with the vocal styling of Franz Herde (formerly of Sieges Even) and Roy Khan (formerly of Kamelot). The performance is absolutely pristine with exceedingly impressive rhythmic drumming. Paired with the very clean, harmonic, poetic (at times almost ‘slam poetry’) vocals, it is indeed enjoyable and interesting.
Circles is not a 'must have' but is certainly a worth listen. The album’s replay value is moderate at best as no particular track will likely get stuck in your head. Fans of Gavin Harrison or drumming in general may appreciate this release more than others. Even so, if you are looking for something that is relatively familiar but not dramatically different, then check this album out.
- Joel
