Circus Devils - Gringo (2009)

Genre: Psychedelic,Rock,Indie,Lo-Fi
Myspace
Tracklist

1. Witness Hill
2. Every Moment Flame On
3. Ships From Prison to Prison
4. Bad Baby Blue
5. Easy Baby
6. Before it Walks
7. Monkey Head
8. The Beast Falls Down
9. Letters From a Witch
10. Arizona Blacktop Company
11. Hot Water Wine
12. In Your Hour of Rescue
13. Ants
14. Stars On All Night
15. The Gasoline Drinkers
16. Yellow Cloud (inst.)

The latest from Robert Pollard and the Tobias brothers, Todd & Tim, once again proves that this vehicle has no rules, boundaries or expectations. This seventh release tells the story of Gringo with moods ranging from high to low in a simple mostly acoustic form that still embraces the Circus Devils love for eclectic background noises but is their most straightforward set of accessible songs to date. This all begins with Pollard's clear non-distorted vocals and guitar in lead off track "Witness Hill", which provides the perfect guide on this new journey for the Circus Devils. The hush strumming of guitar in the quiet ballad "Shipped From Prison To Prison" is so stripped back that you will double check that you are indeed listening to the Circus Devils. The next track "Bad Baby Blue" will quickly put you at ease as it has a little more odd sounding chorus but remains in line with the album while near the conclusion "Gasoline Drinkers" reminds you of how the band can still rock out when they want. Gringo probably won't pull as many Pollard followers as it should because it really is "Circus Devils for Dummies", which could easily be a starting point for a newbie to the group and guide them backwards to some of their more challenging work. You can call Gringo a statement, a step forward, a step backwards, or just the right step but the Circus Devils finalize the notion that trying to put a label on them remains impossible and that is what makes them worth seeking out!