Calamateur vs.
Steve Lawson
Calamateur
Tiny Pushes Vol.2
Calamateur
The Old Fox of '45
The Gena Rowlands Band
La Merde et les Etoiles
V/A
Deep Peace
The Out_Circuit
Burn Your Scripts, Boys
Calamateur
Son of Everyone EP
Calamateur
Tiny Pushes Vol.1
The Gena Rowlands Band
(trailer) EP
Oldsolar
The Perfect Backswing EP
Burn
Your Scripts, Boys
by
The Out_Circuit (clave005)
£3
(including postage)
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Released September 2004
A co-release with Lujo Records. Vinyl released on Arclight Records.
Combining the energy and punctuality of D.C. style punk with an attention to mood and atmosphere a la the Smiths and Radiohead, The Out_Circuit have created a totally original sound that truly defies categorization. Catchy without being derivative, atmospheric without being boring, experimental without losing focus, The Out_Circuit has made fans out of both the most casual music fans and the most jaded scenesters. Forget everything you thought you knew about the "D.C. sound", because The Out_Circuit are here to shatter all of your preconceptions.
"...Chilling,
yet beautiful...a mature sounding album full of elegance and sheer brilliance."
- Adapt Magazine
"...worth every minute of the wait...a powerful, impressive debut."
- Delusions of Adequacy
"...a fantastic album..."
- Cloak and Dagger
"...awesome..."
-1340mag.com
"9/10"
- De Profundis
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1. We Will End
2. The City is Ours
3. The Boy With the Durutti Column
4. Scars
5. Sackler
6. Cut From Our Own Dust
7. Glasgow
8. Phantom City Skyline
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Reviews
in full:
"Described as being 'Catchy without being derivative, atmospheric
without being boring, experimental without losing focus'. The Out_Circuit
deliver an all-embracing wave of atmospheric rock with an overly large
dash of originality. Four
years in the making and two studio's later The Out_Circuit are pleased
to captivate you with the starkly titled 'Burn Your Scripts Boys'. Straight
out of the gates The Out_Circuit sweep you away into a trance-like state
with the ambient melody 'We Will End'. The following track 'The City Is
Ours' is another prime example of how well The Out_Circuit encompass their
dub oriented bass lines and teeming sequencing found throughout this album.
As the lulling, atmospheric bliss continues across the next four tracks
you are hit with a wall of sound in 'Cut from Our Own Dust', a lifting
but sensual display of keen songwriting skills. Ending an album so appropriately
filled with an intangible array of wallowing harmony seems like an impervious
task that only someone of ample aptitude could perform. With two mesmerizing
tracks left The Out_Circuit manage to gracefully allure you into a variance
of euphoric, rapturous and overall engaging embodiment of true D.C. driven
noise. Chilling, yet beautiful The Out_Circuit have created a mature sounding
album full of elegance and sheer brilliance. With tracks already laid
down for a new EP and plans to support this album with a national tour,
let's hope that Nathan Burke returns with something even more lustrous.
4.6/5."
- Matt Hebert, Adapt Magazine
"For
those who like to know where members of their favorite bands move on to,
The Out Circuit is led by Nathan Burke, who played with Frodus on the
band's last album We Washed Our Weapons in the Sea, and included at one
time or another members of Brahm, Majority Rule, Shotbus, Telegraph Melts,
and The Blue Line (primarily DC-area bands). But for those who don't care
what a person did and only what they're doing now, consider that the debut
album by The Out Circuit, Burn Your Scripts Boys was four years in the
making and worth every minute of the wait. The music here is not what
you'd expect from the list of bands above (especially Burke's role in
Frodus). Often moody and quietly intense, at times melodic, at times lush,
Burn Your Scripts Boys is a dark album that straddles the line between
emo, post-rock, and post-hardcore admirably, hinting at shoegaze and more
but resulting in something dreamily intense (if that makes sense). The
opening "We Will End" drifts along on stellar bass and melodic
guitar, Burke's vocals sung softly - and at times merely a background
whisper - before building slowly and then suddenly, Burke's voice breaking
into a scream. It then drifts back on a melodic pace along some synths.
The song is nicely bookended by "Glasgow," on which Burke again
reveals his scream, but this time in the background. In between, the songs
are consistently dark and mid-paced. "The City is Ours" has
deeply reverbed vocals (that for some reason bring to mind Depeche Mode)
over some post-rock rhythm and lush guitars. "The Boy with the Durutti
Column" is pretty, soft female vocals providing some angelic backing
vocals and slick guitar floating throughout. "Scars" is a mid-paced
indie-rock song, quiet yet more upbeat, and "Cut From Our Own Dust"
is a sweetly flowing track with a more ominous underlying rhythm before
the guitars come in driving and intense and drifting back again. The synths
are intrinsic to the moody "Sackler," with its eerie background
vocals speaking in a girl's voice (Japanese, perhaps?) and Burke's more
prominent vocals. Similarly lush is the flowing and melodic "Phantom
City Skyline." "Glasgow" again brings in these studio effects
and synths to propel the song into more experimental territory. This song
is layered perfectly, the guitars more in the background and the vocals
especially unique. This is probably the album's highlight, as the percussion
is outstanding, the effects impressive, and the six-plus-minute length
barely noticeable. If a band was the sum of its parts based on each member's
pasts, you'd expect something completely different from The Out Circuit.
But expectations aren't worth much. This album is dark and moody, melodic
and yet intricate - in short, the perfect formula in my mind. Somehow
the band accomplishes these things without sounding derivative in the
least. Burke proves himself an inspired frontman, and Burn Your Scripts
Boys is a powerful, impressive debut."
- Jeff Marsh, Delusions of Adequacy
"What
does D.C punk rock do when it gives up on punk rock? Sure, to an extent
it goes all mushy and cries in the studio but the stages of grief associated
with the loss of a loved one involve more than despair. Perhaps the final
movement in dealing with death is rededication to the cause, a defiant
choice to continue the work of the lost loved one. So here we are in 2004,
punk is long dead, emo is floating below the murk of the everglades and
post rock has left a sizeable bruise on the collective conscience of,
using it in its widest possible meaning, indie rock. Nathan Burke is the
key force behind The Out Circuit and he has certainly played his part
in the promotion of the punk rock aesthetic, most notably with Frodus
in the late '90's and their widely acclaimed math rock cum punk LP 'And
we washed our weapons in the sea'. But if Burke was to be recognised as
more than just another player in D.C punk rock then he needed to add to
his canon and here with The Out Circuit's debut long player he does more
than necessary to maintain his position, both in cool credibility and
in genuine songwriting circles. Burn Your Scripts Boys couldn't be much
further removed from the sonic attack of Frodus but it's right alongside
Burke's former outfit in both the attitude delivered and the artistic
approach. We Will End is unashamedly Mogwaiesque, it builds for four minutes
but so subtly that when the climax comes on it's acutely shocking unlike
a lot of b-grade, note perfect post rock. Burke is uncomfortably present,
he's almost too 'in the moment' when he blisters and screams at the end
of the track. Allow me to skip to the second track to the last one, Glasgow.
Built around a set of chiming synths cum bells and an intricate dub bass
line, the song is filmic, difficult, monochrome and completely and utterly
brilliant. A city soundscape opens as a backdrop before the chimes and
washing waves of a city hum and then the soothing side of Burke's vocals
work against siren scratches and a slowly increasing pandemonium in the
background. Percussion is pillowed and panicked breathing plays in a loop
over the top before the wild side of Burke is unleashed. I've mentioned
Glasgow and We Will End together because they are bookends on a, for the
most part, softly spoken album. The city is ours hints at modern hip hop
beats but veers away from direct association with oddly distant vocal
and spacey organs. However, that's all the song does baring a momentary
bed of white noise, it's hard to salvage four minutes of nothing with
a moment of bliss. But, The Boy with the Durutti Column, along with being
Burke's finest lyrical moment, is a top-notch reply to the sounds before
it. A distinct and complex drum run precedes rough and beautiful vocal
harmonies and a slow burning, winding riff. Instrumentally sparse yet
musically complex, the song is a classy example of Burke's accomplished
songwriting. So, whilst it might be impolite and sarcastic to answer rhetorical
questions there is your answer. When D.C punk rock gives up on punk rock,
it finds new life in quiet yet enraged places, where the fuel of punk
rock lays down with the tormented beauty of post rock. 9/10."
- Peter Veness, De Profundis
"Post:
the word gets thrown around in reference to musical stylings these days
so often that it’s hard to remember what the word actually refers
to. In writing a letter, the post script contains the information that
couldn’t fit into the topics the letter set out to discuss. Likewise,
when a musical genre has been set and the definitions of what does or
does not fit that particular style are determined, the way out has been
throwing “post” in front of the original genre. In the mid ‘80s,
post-punk began and has since been tried out by many bands to the point
where it now has its own particular sound. Nathan Burke and his sonic
outlet The Out Circuit have begun a new era, and one that I like to refer
to as post-post punk. Burn Your Scripts Boys sets out to do just that.
Take away any precautions or notions about the normal sound you would
expect to come from a D.C. band. The Out Circuit blend ambient art rock
ala the likes of Radiohead into the well known D.C. punk sound (think
Fugazi), and add just enough futuristic space pop to fill in any voids
that could have been left. Nathan Burke, the thought behind the album,
is most well known for his previous work as the bass player in the now-defunct
Frodus, who became an inspiration for Mr. Burke to expand his musical
horizons and make this fantastic album that can only truly be described
as intriguing. I will, however, do my best to give you a quick overview
of some of the eight tracks that encompass Burn Your Scripts Boys. The
album starts off with the beauteous “We Will End”—a track
that sets the scale for all to follow. A smooth jazz inspired drum beat
sets the tone as the song gets flowing into a mellow path a tends to dominate
the majority of the album. But something different happens just when you
think the song may be just a catchy little jam; everything is tossed out
the window. The distorted guitars rush in to stomp out the elegant brilliance
and mood. And just as the song gets to the point where something must
break, Nathan lets out one of the most powerful screams known to date
(reminiscent of his days in Frodus). And just like that, the song goes
back to its calm and storm-free demeanor. Other standout tracks include
“Scars”, easily the most digestible track on the album, and
“Glasgow", the only return of Nathan’s memorable scream-sing
from days in Frodus to be found. All the songs rely heavily on Nathan’s
slightly obscure-yet-meaningful lyrics. Tracks are overlaid with layer
upon layer of sound, which take a few listens before you notice many of
the parts that make the whole. And just for even more interesting effect,
“Sackler” splices sound-bites of a girl talking throughout.
It seems to fit into the lyrical idea, the likes of this I have never
heard before. It is pretty clear to see that The Out Circuit is Nathan
Burke’s chance at coloring outside the lines; an artistic endeavor
that cannot be framed by its influences or those that have come before.
This album may leave you questioning the current state of music. It doesn’t
seem The Out Circuit is here to redefine music as a whole, but just to
assure you that there are still places that it can be taken that have
yet to be embarked upon.
- Jared Thompson, Cloak and Dagger
"If
you’re not familiar with the techno wizardry and indie-pop work of
Her Space Holiday, you should be, because he’s good. But if you can’t
get your hands on one of Her Space Holiday’s records, you could settle
for the next best thing, The Out_Circuit. Emerging from the ashes of D.C.
post-punk legends Frodus, The Out_Circuit combines barely there vocals
with slow, ambient synth waves and loose structures. The record seems
to flow endlessly from track to track, delivering some interesting melodic
lines, but the bass and drums seem to take a backseat to the effect-laden
guitar and delicate synths that drip with ingenuity. If you’re into
records that are deep like an ocean abyss, this is for you. 3/5."
- Nick Rose, Pulse Weekly
"Independent
Frodus bass man Nathan Burke fronts this new project with duties of guitar,
vocals, keys and bass. Along with three others this new groups of his
unearths atmospheric space tones and softly gliding breaths of indie pop
that all seem futuristic in the sense of being very smooth and durably
intact. The vocals fit very well and carry on an originally captured and
heartfelt inspirational soundm backed at moments by female accompaniment.
A right amount of effects are used on this disc to capture the futuristic
space pop that will every so often drag you on an upscale of rising harshness
and screaming. Through eight tracks, different remedies of their style
shine through at perfect measurements of artistic aura."
- Stu, SHZine
The
sound that I hear from The Out-Circuit's Burn Your Scripts Boys is one
that is familiar, yet still so inviting. The Out-Circuit is comprised
of former members of the great Washington D.C. math rock outfit, Frodus,
and the comparisons are strong; however, this release stands on its own.
Recorded around the same time as Frodus' final release, and we washed
our weapons in the sea, Scripts expands on the softer, more melodic sound
Frodus began experimenting with and combines it with the musical stylings
of Radiohead or The Smiths...fine mood music. When I've listened to this
disc, I'm reminded of soundtracks I've heard in some Indie films. When
I imagine it that way, I really start to understand this album. Fans of
Sunny Day Real Estate or Frodus might like this disc to help fill the
gaps left by both of those bands.
- The Phantom Tollbooth
Frodus,
one of the most underappreciated bands, now seems to be getting the attention
they deserve. Unfortunately, it is years after they broke up and it's
all from the other bands the members are in now. Two-thirds of the band
is in Decahedron and the bass player on "Conglomerate International"
and until the end, Nathan Burke, is the main force behind The Out Circuit.
As of now, The Out Circuit is a full band, but on this record Nathan takes
on most of the duties, except for drums. If I had to put a tag on this
it would be mellow indie rock, but some of the stuff borderlines electronic
ambient. Burn Your Scripts... is a very moody album, mellow with a little
aggression escaping now and them. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this album.
The instrumentation and total feel of the album is awesome. The Out Circuit
is a fitting way to keep the Frodus legacy alive.
- 1340mag.com
"Read
closely cause I’m only gonna explain this once: Nathan Burke (former
drummer of Frodus) got the idea for this band shortly befor Frodus’
break up. The original members of the band were dudes from Brahm, Majority
Rule and Trial By Fire, and Corn On Macabre and Shotbus. The early recording
for this record was done by Brian McTernan at his Salad Days Studio, but
was handed off to Ken Olden. Then the dudes from Brahm and MJ/TBF split,
and Burke had to find some other dudes to hit the road with; dudes from
Telegraph Melts and The Blue Line. They began hitting the road in March
2002. All of this was significant enough to go in a sticker on the front
of the CD, in the liner notes, and even in the one sheet that accompanied
the record. So, I bet you think you know what this sounds like, right?
Maybe, maybe not. Well, if you’ve been following the post-hardcore
careers of other noteable D.C. area musicians you’re on the right
track. Like Ben Davis (ex-Sleepytimetrio) and a few of those other dudes,
Out_Circuit display’s Burke’s softer side. There are violins
and other shit like that here, and Burke sings softly over electronic
noises and meandering guitar and rhythm lines. The whole thing sounds
a lot like a combination between post-Christy Front Drive’s Antarctica,
post-Mineral’s Gloria Record, and post-Sleepytime Trio’s Engine
Down. If you’re into those bands, you’re gonna be stoked post-buying
this CD."
- Tim Anderl, Bettawreckonize
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Oldsolar
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Calamateur
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The
Gena Rowlands Band
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The Out_Circuit
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Steve
Lawson
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