Cirva, a small village nestled in the heart of the Amuket Mountains, has long been a testament to the strength and resilience of its people. Situated in an unforgiving environment with harsh winters and rugged terrain, survival in Cirva is a constant battle. The villagers of Cirva have learned to adapt and thrive in this challenging setting. They have developed unique skills and knowledge passed down from generation to generation. From a young age, children are taught the art of mountaineering, navigating treacherous slopes and climbing steep cliffs. This allows them to access essential resources like water, food, and firewood.
Speaking of movement, though, one of the things that might be most striking about this iteration of the band is that there are some truly nice grooves on this album that are thicker and heavier than they’ve executed in the past. The best example of that on this album would be the thump and bump from Beard and drummer, Steve Clifford, that serves as the backbone of “Premonition of the Hex”.
The best example of that on this album would be the thump and bump from Beard and drummer, Steve Clifford, that serves as the backbone of Premonition of the Hex. It kicks off with Lustration, a song that takes its time setting the scene with a gently rendered and tender melody, before unleashing a barrage of signature guitar lashes and some particularly energetic drumming from Clifford, whose performances across the album are both inventive and bracing.
This allows them to access essential resources like water, food, and firewood. Water, a scarce resource in the Amuket Mountains, is carefully managed by the villagers. They have ingeniously constructed a system of interconnected channels and reservoirs to collect and distribute water throughout the village.
Album Review: Circa Survive – ‘The Amulet’
Circa Survive, a gently psychedelic and otherworldly post-hardcore mainstay, started in 2004 as a project between members Anthony Green, Colin Frangicetto, Nick Beard, Brendan Ekstrom, and Stephen Clifford. Today, CS consists of those same five members, who have lived through a decade of personal tragedy, addiction, the growth of families, and more record labels than can be counted on one hand. With many one-off reunions and sudden attempts at reinvention after long silences, how many bands have stuck together and continued to make music – let alone music that is worthy of sustained attention from their once hormone-addled fans who have since graduated into adult life? The Amulet is Circa Survive’s 6 th full-length album, which already puts them in rarified air, but what really makes it an album worth talking about is simply that it’s one of the band’s best.
2015’s Descensus was released following publicized revelations about lead singer Anthony Green’s battles with heroin. While it echoed earlier struggles with substances that were the thematic focus of Juturna , the band’s first album, Descensus showed that the group was still hungry, still capable, and still committed to making music together. It was an unexpected delight for some fans whose interest had dwindled following the uneven Blue Sky Noise , and the troublingly uninspired Violent Waves. This return – with plenty of claws and teeth – might have been enough. It was not the band’s best, but was certainly a good album that touched on some fresh ground.
With The Amulet we are not just given a re-introduction to the band. It is more than a statement of resilience and a reminder of what once was. Full of creativity, lacking predictability, it is a damn good album that rings with a sense of urgency most bands fail to sustain through two or three albums, let alone a half dozen.
It kicks off with “Lustration,” a song that takes its time setting the scene with a gently rendered and tender melody, before unleashing a barrage of signature guitar lashes and some particularly energetic drumming from Clifford, whose performances across the album are both inventive and bracing. As the first single, the song acts as a map of intent for the album as a whole; there are familiar tricks here, all the moves that one might expect from CS, but they are punctuated, and at places even pleasantly dismantled, by surprising doses of originality. Green’s recent penchant for growls are replaced by touches of falsetto, the chorus takes a step back rather than clamoring for attention, and the climax is followed by an extended and meditative outro. There is urgency, but there is also patience. The song breathes, feels vast, and hides nothing. And it is in the collection of songs that follows that these qualities are all mirrored and even further developed.
“Never Tell A Soul,” as well as the wonderfully energetic “Stay,” rank among the band’s most raucous and simultaneously mind-bending songs. These harken back to their sophomore record, On Letting Go, while incorporating elements that feel fresh and defy categorization. This is not surprising, given that the band followed the release of their last LP with two consecutive anniversary tours, which celebrated their first two albums by playing them in full night after night.
While there is certainly ample nostalgia fueling these now-common trips down memory lane, it was never necessary for Circa Survive to do these tours. They could have easily kept on with their current material, but seemed invigorated by mining their collective past, and from this, may have tapped into something that they lost with the years: a willingness to risk something, to indulge in restlessness. And damn if it isn’t refreshing to hear Green trade in his high-pitched growls for a full on scream here and there.
The album’s centerpiece, and its longest song, “At Night It Gets Worse,” is a dreamlike slow-burn that lulls the listener into a place of vulnerability, with moments of anxiety translated through sudden bursts of guitars that wail and jitter as the track lopes on towards its climax. Similarly, “The Amulet,” the title track and closer to the album, might be among the record’s most infectious songs. With its powerful build-up and invigorating payoff, CS is firing on all pistons with this finale, and its last minute makes for one of the finest moments on any album in their discography. Though Green’s lyrics appear to touch on themes familiar to him, those of addiction, loss, and subsequent redemption, they tend more towards symbol-heavy stream of consciousness meditations, which are more effective than some of his more pseudo-philosophical self-help narratives (Surely “Always Begin” and “I’ll Find A Way” worked for someone, somewhere). Here he seems happier to let the music guide the words, focusing on the feeling at hand, the moment, and his words and voice are the stronger for it.
That is not to say that every moment is entirely fresh. There are passages, and even tracks, where the band retreads onto some familiar territory, as on “Rites of Investiture” and “Flesh and Bone,” the somewhat token ballad of the bunch – but even these are delivered with more strength and tenderness, respectively, than their familiar counterparts from records past. The album is filled out by strange and surprising songs like “Tunnel Vision” and “The Hex,” that show the band meddling with time signatures and melodic tropes in ways they haven’t for years. Dueling guitars from Frangicetto and Ekstrom provide a swaying undercurrent of melody and tension, rather than blaring to the forefront with cheap hooks. The step away from the familiar, back towards a more atmospheric, and at times even chimerical approach, brings out the very best in this band by joining the enthrallment of their past with the clarity they have gained by writing and performing as a single entity for over a decade.
The album’s cover – another evocative entry in the band’s ongoing collaboration with Esao Andrews, without whose work a new Circa Survive album would feel inauthentic – shows a woman, naked in a desolate landscape, bending beneath the burden of a giant, somewhat sinister shell. While the image is arresting, it seems at odds with the overall feel of this album. Maybe this picture is the band commenting on the responsibility of having a platform, a voice that people keep coming back to hear, stripped of all privacy and struggling with expectations. But, The Amulet feels like Circa Survive at their most unburdened – shedding the formulas and trials of their collective past, accepting their strengths and limitations, and discovering something new through their enduring unity.
With The Amulet we are not just given a re-introduction to the band. It is more than a statement of resilience and a reminder of what once was. Full of creativity, lacking predictability, it is a damn good album that rings with a sense of urgency most bands fail to sustain through two or three albums, let alone a half dozen.
Through meticulous planning and cooperation, the community ensures that everyone has access to this life-sustaining element. Food production in Cirva is a delicate balancing act. Long winters and limited arable land make it challenging to cultivate crops. However, the villagers have mastered the art of terraced farming, carving small pockets of fertile soil into the mountainside. These terraces are meticulously maintained, preventing erosion and maximizing the use of limited space. Additionally, hunting and gathering play a crucial role in supplementing the villagers' diet. They have honed their knowledge of the local flora and fauna, allowing them to forage for edible plants and hunt game when needed. Cirva's isolation has also fostered a strong sense of community and self-sufficiency. The villagers rely on each other for support and cooperation. They have created a network of shared resources and communal tasks, allowing everyone to benefit from combined efforts. This tight-knit community spirit ensures that no one is left behind and that everyone has a chance to survive and thrive. Despite the challenges they face, the people of Cirva refuse to be defeated by their environment. Their determination and resourcefulness have allowed them not only to survive but also to find beauty and meaning in their lives. Cirva serves as a testament to the indomitable human spirit, showing that with perseverance, adaptability, and unity, one can overcome even the harshest circumstances..
Reviews for "Cirva's Trials and Triumphs in the Unforgiving Amuket"
1. Samantha - 1 star - I really didn't enjoy "Cirva survive the amuket". The storyline was confusing and lacked cohesion. The characters were underdeveloped and it was difficult to connect with any of them. The writing style felt choppy and the dialogue was unnatural. Overall, the book left me feeling unsatisfied and disappointed. I wouldn't recommend it to others.
2. James - 2 stars - "Cirva survive the amuket" had an interesting premise, but it fell flat for me. The pacing was off, with long stretches of nothing happening followed by rushed action scenes. The world-building was minimal and I found it hard to immerse myself in the story. The dialogue was stilted and the characters lacked depth. I wanted to like this book, but it just didn't deliver for me.
3. Sarah - 2 stars - I found "Cirva survive the amuket" to be a mediocre read. The plot was predictable and there were no surprises or twists that kept me engaged. The writing style was average and there were several grammatical errors throughout the book. I also felt that the character development was lacking, making it difficult for me to care about their fates. Overall, the book was forgettable and I wouldn't recommend it to others.