Circa Survive
Blue Sky is the Limit
Circa Survive refines its songwriting approach on its new album

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By Matt Conner

Circa Survive singer Anthony Green doesn’t just inspire fans to write in saying how much they love their lyrics or how a song meaningfully connected to them. He also inspires his own band mates.

“Some people just have that thing, and I'd say that he does,” says guitarist Brendan Ekstrom with a laugh “It’s whatever the hell that is that no one is ever able to explain about some of the stray people that have put their art out there in the world. People just identify with it. Maybe it's just extremely raw and real, no matter what. I think he struggles with that. It's really hard. It's really exhausting to do that.”

The authenticity and heartfelt energy behind the band’s music has compelled a passionate following. After debuting in 2005 with Juturna, the group returned two years later with the more popular On Letting Go. The growing success helped it jump on tours with Coheed and Cambria, Thrice, Rise Against and Thursday.

“If I were to draw out the way the band has grown, I feel that it's a very natural ride,” says Ekstrom. “I mean, that's something we're all very comfortable with and no one wants to just jump. We all have aspirations to have Anthony's lyrics in our music reach as many people as possible, and that's always been the goal with this band. But hopefully we will just continue to move up and continue to go forward and be able to reach those people.”

On Letting Go was defined by Green’s wrestling with the existence of God and other emotional journeys. The trend continues with Blue Sky Noise as Green relates his experiences on songs like “Through the Desert Alone” and “The Longest Mile.” It’s these shared experiences that compel fans to follow Green.

“Within the band, we're all very moved at what he writes,” says Ekstrom. “It's a reflection of everything we've all gone through – obviously, him in the foremost, but it's all things we've been through together. So anytime I hear one of the songs, I can almost put imagery to it. I think that one of the most important things is that you leave it open just enough that anybody can listen to it and put themselves in a situation. So it's definitely open to interpretation, but at the same time, it's just direct enough to give you emotion and an image.”

The band also tried to refine its songwriting approach.
"One of the things we knew even when we were recording On Letting Go was that we really wanted to kind of just sit down and try to mold songs from the ground up,” he says. “A lot of the first two albums' songs were based on music first or taking some musical jams that we'd recorded and taking parts from them and working from there. I think a lot of our favorite things to listen to are songwriters, just people that write vocals first. So we really wanted to change things from that aspect, to sit down and do that.”

Blue Sky Noise falls in line with the band's mission as Green's unmistakable tenor stands front and center on each and every track. The lead single "Get Out" finds Green swooning and screaming alongside guitar textures both ambient and angular. "Glass Arrows" and "Frozen Creek" also serve as highlight tracks and showcase what producer David Bottrill (Muse, Tool, Coheed and Cambria) does best with varied textures.

"There’s definitely stuff we wanted to do as far as guitar work,” Ekstrom explains. “Colin [Frangicetto] and I on the last couple of records didn't necessarily think through giving each other space to let certain melodies breathe, so we talked about that a bit. Sometimes it works really well to have two guitars playing off of each other and going crazy, and then other times it's nice to have a melody just really stand out, maybe the way that Coldplay does it. They have a really amazing way of having the lead guitar just really hit you when you play a lead."

Circa Survive now has a new platform for their music with Atlantic Records, a move that should only enhance the band’s credibility and reach. After wrapping up its contract with Equal Vision, signing with a major just made sense and also served to fulfill a main goal for the band to sign with a major label.

“The simplest way to put it is that we really felt comfortable there,” Ekstrom says. “It seemed like it's the kind of opportunity that you think about, you know? When you think about having a career as a musician, you think about that your whole life. You think, 'What if we have an opportunity to work with a major label someday?' It just felt really natural. We went in and talked about where we wanted to go with the band and music. We had no intentions of being anything but what we are, and I don't think they have any intentions of us being anything other than what we are.”