Circa Survive’s first Dutch show in five years is happening in Eindhoven tonight. With the last albums Violent Waves and Descensus the band has progressed into a highly innovate Indie/Alternative Rock band with the high region voice of Anthony Green in the spot of attention. As support they have taken From Indian Lakes with them. The experimental Indie/Rock band has their first tour in Europe. Opening band tonight is the Belgium outfit Atlas.

Atlas has released an EP last year and plays a mix of post-hardcore and emo. Atlas knows how to make a first impression. The aggressive passionate vocals accompanied by technical riffs and piercing drums make this an energetic band that really gives everything on stage. Very promising shows and Metalrage is eager to hear more.
 

Disappointing from the start is From Indian Lakes, a band centered on guitarist/vocalist Joey Vannucchi. The color of his voice is promising, however his vocal lines lack all sorts of dynamics and his bandmates follow these lines carefully so there is never an intense moment to discover. Sometimes it looks like the talented musicians are moving forward to a climax but the time of release never comes. It’s like going out for dinner and a band is playing in the back, nice as background, never picking up your attention. You can call them the Dream Theater of the indie/alternative rock; technical capable while never venting full energy. While the startup atmosphere of every song is promising the band is staying in the safe mode; too bad because the musical talent is present.
 

In the packed main room with a smaller stage in front of the real stage there is a lot of intimacy with the diehard fans and singer Anthony Green. His emotional voice and lyrics are spread directly over the enthusiastic crowd and Green is eager to keep his hand on the heads of fanatics to create a bond between him and the fans. In my opinion it’s exaggerated a bit because it creates a gap between him and his talented band mates.
 

If you don’t focus on Green you see four people who play progressive emo/alternative rock intense, energetic and full of craft. It great to see how new songs (“Scheme”, “Child of the Desert” and “Sharp Practice”) and older ones (“In Fear and Faith”, “Strange Terrain” and “Glass Arrows”) are so easily played while the songs are dynamical and difficult to follow. Due to the high pitches voice of Green and the technical way of playing alternative rock Circa Survive never will be a band for the masses. Not in Europe because touring is scarce in these regions.

The bad thing is the sound. In the soft regions there is no issue at all, when the band is going loose in heaviness the sound is muddy; too bad because different melodies are intertwined in Circa Survive’s musical palette. The fact the band is standing so close to the audience is compensating it. More than an hour the band is giving everything until they finish with the favorite “Get Out”. Ending the set with a banger so no encore is necessary!