Circuit des Yeux is essentially Haley Fohr. And Haley Fohr, as the driving force behind Circuit des Yeux, has made the band's new album, Reaching For Indigo, a bold, artistic statement. The record, out Friday on Drag City, is a strikingly original release, and one that rewards attentive listeners.
A number like "Brainshift" unfurls with a sort of classical sense of precision, while the more relaxed "Black Fly" suggests a folk-y take on the kind of material routinely offered up by Antony and the Johnsons. Elsewhere, the superb "Paper Bag" pops, sputters, and clangs in the manner of Broadcast, while the lush and aching "Geyser" returns again to the classical styles that underpin lots of Reaching For Indigo. A listener could be forgiven for hearing a faint echo of Diamnada Galas in closer "Falling Blonde", but where Galas seems intent on barely containing her discordant musical fire, Fohr, instead, pieces her voice into the mix in such a way that it's another instrument, like a cello in a string quartet, for example.
Superbly realized, Reaching For Indigo is a record that attempts to be something more than just the usual indie-rock slab of vinyl. That it is also remarkably listenable and largely free of any heavy-handed pretension says a lot about the skill and talent of Haley Fohr at perfecting her vision as a recording artist. This weeks' most ambitious new release, Reaching For Indigo is available from Drag City on Friday.
[Photo: Julia Dratel]