SONIQ CIRCUS – Reflections In The Hourglass

The Swedish Progressive rockers of Soniq Circus are releasing their sophomore album, Reflections In The Hourglass. Since their self-titled debut, guitarist and main composer Marcus Enochsson has taken over the lead vocal duties, and Marco Ledri is now handling the keys. It’s a bit difficult to say if Enochsson’s vocals have strengthened the band, as both him and Calle Lennartsson have unique and great voices, but there’s no doubt that Enochsson’s voice definitely suits the songs on this release. Ledri is also a strength for the band; he knows when to add to the foundation of the songs and when to put in the little extra… like the incredible keyboard solo on “Learning to Talk.” He also proves he’s capable of writing beautiful instrumental tunes with his piano piece “Childbirth.”

There’s a lot of good (at times great) music on this album, and your thoughts might easily gravitate towards bands such as Yes and even Spock’s Beard. Reflections In The Hourglass doesn’t contain the usual technical brilliance you’d expect from a Progressive Rock release, though there’s no question about the band members’ technical skills. This album focuses more on thorough compositions and well-written lyrics. Just listen to the combo “Childbirth” and “By The Heartshaped Lake.” Here they really bide their time and don’t rush anything. If you can hang in there for thirteen and a half minutes, you’ll find that it’s definitely worth it.

The production isn’t what you normally get with Progressive Rock releases. The sound is very raw and a bit unbalanced at times. The band could benefit much from cleaning up that raw sound and also by experimenting more within the soundscape.  The guitar sounds awful; it stings almost as bad as the guitars on early Symphony X albums. At times, that flaw dominates the band’s sound and therefore the guitar stands almost separately from the rest of the band in the mix. Fortunately, this isn’t the case throughout the whole release. It’s most prominent on “Inside The Hourglass 3am,” but not that noticeable on the more keyboard-dominated parts of “Formula.”

If the band can sort out the production problems then they’ll really be a force to reckon with — songs of this caliber deserve a better production. Reflections In The Hourglass is altogether a good release, and fans will no doubt see more of Soniq Circus in the future.

Lineup: Marcus Enochsson (guitars, vocals), Marco Ledri (keyboards, backing vocals), Markus Nilsson (bass, backing vocals), Christer Ugglin (drums, backing vocals)

Tracklist: Inside the Hourglass 3am / Formula / Actor / Shadow Dance / Childbirth (instrumental) / By The Heartshaped Lake / Learning To Talk / Outside The Hourglass 4am