Album Review: The Circus’ Moody Love Notes

[easyreview cat1title = “With Love” cat1rating = “4” cat1detail = “Honest Indian Recordings”]

It’s been a long time coming for Delhi rockers The Circus to get their due recognition for their warped sense of experimentation with electronic, rock and metal elements in the ring. With guitarist Arsh Sharma’s metal-leaning riffwork and mercurial work behind the mic by vocalist Abhishek Bhatia, The Circus’ earlier releases were unpredictable at best, in a good way. Their latest release, the seven-track With Love actually puts the spotlight on the locked-in groove-giver combo of bassist Abhinav Chaudhary and drummer Anshul Lall.

“Not Yet Dinosaurs” starts with a tribal-esque beat looped over until the band bursts into action at the two-minute mark. They’re a bit more hyper on the title track, Sharma adding a heavy, classic alt rock lead over Lall’s dancey drumwork. Thematically, The Circus are still singing about how fucked up relationships are, from the lamenting to the wanting to the not caring [the unusually quiet “I Don’t Care Anymore For You”]. Interestingly, they throw in an ode to fantasy series Game of Thrones on the string-bending fest that’s “Lions and Wolves.”

In just seven tracks, With Love becomes The Circus’s moodiest album, staying infectious as ever on songs like “Discourse! Discourse!” “I’m Bored” and the closer “Goodbye, We Won’t Meet Again,” which even has Sharma blazing out a solo. The Circus continue to keep fans second-guessing.

Key tracks: “Not Yet Dinosaurs,” “Lions and Wolves”

Watch “Not Yet Dinosaurs” below.