Review by Jason

Nottingham-based Alt Rock band Imperial Circus is a pleasant surprise. Esoteric and exotic, the instrumental opener ‘Nykur’ is no indication of what to expect from Above The Deep, whereas the muted riff and whispered vocals of ’15 Stitches’ very quickly builds into a mighty track, saturated in (what better parts there were of) 90s nu metal, grunge, and Faith No More-via-Incubus melodies is a clear declaration of what they are about. Across the album, Imperial Circus employs a vast range of styles, structures, and dynamics to chop together an eclectic range of influences to form a sound that, though largely derivative, is distinct enough to mark them apart from a lot of what’s out there at the moment.

The guitar work of Andrew Cargill and Daniel Buck is outstanding, as is Leighton Mead’s bass. The riffs are huge, the open chords have both power and fragility – a dynamic they use very well – and the lead work has enough unconventional elements to bring a distinct perspective to the songs. David Weston Smith’s drums are towers of strength. Leigh Dickens shifts between clean, melodic vocals with hints of Eddie Vedder’s tremulous vibrato and Deftones shrieks. One minor annoyance is his insistence on inserting extraneous breathy syllable sounds where the song would have been fine without them. For instance, “done” becomes “du-hun” and away becomes “a-wa-hay” in ‘A Bitter Pill’, and “wake up” becomes “way-hake up in ‘In The Name of Hate’. Otherwise, however, his performance is top notch, shifting styles to suit the songs and colour them with the weight they need.

Of all the songs, the aforementioned ’15 Stitches’ is easily the best track here, followed closely by ‘Sink or Swim’ and ‘Darkest Side’, three songs that perhaps sum up this band perfectly. The band tend rely a little too heavily on their influences for the most part, however. For example, Rage Against the Machine’s influence can be heard in the riffs that build alongside Dickens’s breathy vocals, and ‘Happy?’ has a distinct Tool influence in the bass line, the open chords and the riffs, and particularly in the Keenan-like vocal performance. But even though their influences are a little too apparent, this is a great debut that looks set to provide that most-reviled of problems for bands: the second album. For Imperial Circus, this should be a blessing as they will have to produce something that is truly their own, something that shows how they’ve digested their influences wholly and truly evolved to create a signature sound. Keep an eye on these guys.