Circuit des Yeux “Acarina” (exclusive)

02 Sep 2013 — Henning Lahmann

Haley Fohr's work is easily dressed in words. When I first came across the music she makes as Circuit des Yeux roughly two years ago, when she had released her compelling LP Portrait on the always excellent De Stijl Records, the attributes came up automatically. Dark. Eerie. Haunting. Uncanny. Bleak. You know the deal. In fact, you may leave it at that. Until you realise that Fohr's songs are not easy to grasp at all. Above the surely dominant melancholic underpinnings lie structures of cautious and fragile optimism, seeking for the kind of resolution that perhaps only this kind of intimate, introspective music can ever accomplish. This property of her art became most apparent in January of this year with her marvellous song "Lithonia", and it reemerges again in "Acarina", a track off of the forthcoming, fourth official Circuit des Yeux full-length Overdue. Albeit in a notably different gestalt: this time, a signifying moment of catharsis stays absent. Instead, the song meanders slowly, carried almost solely by silent, irresolute drums and a hesitantly plucked acoustic guitar. Rather than being blessed with a climactic arrangement that represents obvious redemption, what we are left with are the artist's challenging, increasingly menacing vocal experimentations that gradually take over, repeating the song's title over and over, before eventually collapsing into a sudden wash of static noise. In "Acarina", assurance might not be pushed to the fore; still, finally and subliminally, liberation awaits in the form of transcendence.

Overdue is out October 15. You may pre-order your copy now over here and check out Fohr's upcoming tour dates after the break.

Sept 7 Chicago, IL – Constellation *RECORD RELEASE SHOW* #
Sept 21 Milwaukee, WI – River Public West^
Sept 22 Madison, WI – Dragon Fly Lounge^$
Sept 23 Minneapolis, MI – Cause^
Sept 24 Iowa City, IA – Trumpet Blossom^
Sept 25 Omaha, NE – Oleavers^
Oct 14 Chicago IL – Alhambra Palace*
Oct 16 St. Louis, MO – Old Rock House*
Oct 17 Columbia, MO – Mojos*
Oct 18 Springfield, MO – Outland Ballroom*
Oct 19 Norman, OK – The Opolis Norman*
Dec 19 Chicago, IL – The Owl

*with Bill Callahan
^with Spires That in The Sunset Rise
$with Bitchin Bajas
#with Ryley Walker