Circuits - 'Bright As Midnight' (Try Science) Released 07/07/08

You’ve got to admire a band that refuses to be forced into a one size fits all musical pigeonhole, a band with self-proclaimed indie-punk roots, not scared to lash out against mainstream sensibilities. Circuits debut album ‘Bright As Midnight’ is one such example, on paper at least; the reality is that a splash of post-punk and a hint of ska thrown in for good measure is about as counterculture as sharing half a pint of warm lager-top with Samuel Preston and Richard Archer.

Embarking on a moral flag waving crusade with the all knowing, overbearing cautionary tales of ‘City Of Lights’ and ‘Exit Strategy’, the band immediately employ that all important ska undertone in an attempt to reach out to the real people and add authenticity to their social campaign. Yes that’s right, Circuits are fighting the common fight on your behalf, banging the world to rights and denouncing the 21st Century’s live to work ethic while imitating parcel shelf dwelling nodding dogs. As admirable as that is, I’m personally quite happy with my materialistic consumer lifestyle and if I did “win the rat race” I’d probably celebrate my newfound status as “first place rat” by quaffing a **** off magnum of Champagne and not recycling the bottle afterwards.

Moving on and with the obligatory Trustafarian styling’s all but taken care of, Circuits continue to peddle their wares through the more upbeat ‘The Choir Invisible’ and ‘Young Enough Not To Care’. The choruses are as catchy as a ‘What do we want, When do we want it’ protest chant, but that’s largely dictated by the insipid repetitive nature of the lyrics than any substance they hold. The vacuous holes left by ‘A Question Mark Shaped Heart’, ‘Welcome To The End’ and ‘Before It’s Over’ are filled with stabbing guitars, stumbling bass lines, corporately responsible backing vocals and a lyrical deluge of how tough love, life and personal identity can be in this modern world we live in. I hear ya brother, but if you think you’ve got it bad, take a holiday to Zimbabwe and send me a postcard, especially as the grotty London café sound has been traded in for a takeaway Starbucks. While Circuits have an admirable shared vision it’s left to rot by the half-hearted anthemic head-charge that’s more out of touch and self-righteousness than representative of today’s yoof culture. And there’s more limp principled cynicism to come in the form of ‘No Return’ and ‘A Thousand Ideas’ before the rousing and strangely Razorlight-esque ‘Say No Say Yeah’ closes the album.

‘Bright As Midnight’ is an album that pitches Circuits’ moral crusade against their vision of musical grandeur and despite some promising single fodder, it’s a largely bland and uninteresting album from a band with their wires crossed.