Solid
Southampton band Circle of Reason return with a new offering, an EP entitled These Hands and This Mind and decent it is too. Allying heartland rock with touches of emo in the Jimmy Eat World and Rival Schools mould augmented with some head down metallic chug and prog ornamentation Circle of Reason aim for the master weaver status of Alu from their namesake novel by Amitav Ghosh but get bogged down in some dreary straight-up rock.
The five tracks on These Hands and This Mind sound great, all crunchy guitars and crystal clear vocals but that doesn't mask the EP's samey quality and odd flirtation with Nickleback esque post-grunge grey scale emoting. Nevertheless, there are some moments of ingenuity and class such as the single Don't Be Still with has the sort of feel good bubblegum riff that Torche specialise in. Home with its delicate melody that gets trampled by brooding distorted guitar and the picked notes that ring the chorus of Themes Amongst Thieves contrasting a brutish riff. Novel; however, merely continues the record adding little other than another handwringing vocal from Simon Osman and sepia tinged closer Sleep, whilst being a perfectly serviceable song, feels by this stage largely superfluous.
On the whole, These Hands and This Mind is a solid rather than spectacular affair where Circle of Reason consolidate their song-writing strengths of melody and tasteful arrangements and show off some instrumental chops without ever producing one truly knock out effort.