Music
[Album Review] Purson ‘The Circle And The Blue Door’
Hailing from London, Purson is a five-piece band that seems very displaced, sounding like an amalgamation of 60’s folk and 70’s heavy metal with pinches of classic prog influences. Self described as “vaudeville carny psych”, the band has jut released their debut album The Circle And The Blue Door via Metal Blade Records, a somewhat interesting choice yet oddly fitting. But does the group pull off this style or does it fall short as something campy and trite? Find out below!
The album begins with “Wake Up Sleepy Head”, a mellow acoustic track with gentle flutes and synths. It immediately reminded me of something off an early King Crimson album. The song then flowed effortlessly into “The Contract”, which begins with a driving bass riff and eerie effected guitars. It is here that singer Rosalie Cunningham dives into the full theatricality of the music with soaring and engrossing vocals.
It is in “Spiderwood Farm” that the vaudeville carny aspect becomes readily apparent. The track is highly engaging and it is obvious that the band had a great deal of fun putting this track together. The album then slows a bit with “Sailor Wife’s Lament”, adding in beauty and calm to give the listener a brief respite after the insanity of the previous track.
Towards the end of the album, “Rocking Horse” is delightfully spine-chilling, a nightmarish lullaby waltz that hypnotizes with sublime instrumentation. The album then ends with “Tragic Catastropher”, which, much like the story of Goldilocks, is neither too fast nor too slow. It adds just enough intrigue and mystery to leave listeners wanting more.
Were I to compare The Circle And The Blue Door to a horror movie, it would probably be 1976’s Carrie, the intense rockers mirroring the violence of the film while the gentle, softer tracks have an almost dreamlike quality about them. Additionally, the feel and atmosphere of the album makes it seem like a perfect accompaniment to Palma’s classic film.
The Final Word: With The Circle And The Blue Door, Purson has added dashes of eeriness and horror to classic prog rock and created something very thrilling and intriguing. While not a flawless album, it is something I can easily see myself coming back to and enjoying with regularity.
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It’s a new day, and you’ve got new John Carpenter to listen to. John Carpenter, Daniel Davies and Cody Carpenter have released the new track He Walks By Night this morning, the second single off their upcoming album Lost Themes IV: Noir, out May 3 on Sacred Bones Records.
Lost Themes IV: Noir is the latest installment in a series that sees Carpenter releasing new music for John Carpenter movies that don’t actually exist. The first Lost Themes was released in 2015, followed by Lost Themes II in 2016 and Lost Themes III: Alive After Death in 2021.
Sacred Bones previews, “It’s been a decade since John Carpenter recorded the material that would become Lost Themes, his debut album of non-film music and the opening salvo in one of Hollywood’s great second acts. Those vibrant, synth-driven songs, made in collaboration with his son Cody Carpenter and godson Daniel Davies, kickstarted a musical renaissance for the pioneering composer and director. With Lost Themes IV: Noir, they’ve struck gold again, this time mining the rich history of the film noir genre for inspiration.
“Since the first Lost Themes, John has referred to these compositions as “soundtracks for the movies in your mind.” On the fourth installment in the series, those movies are noirs. Like the film genre they were influenced by, what makes these songs “noirish” is sometimes slippery and hard to define, and not merely reducible to a collection of tropes. The scores for the great American noir pictures were largely orchestral, while the Carpenters and Davies work off a sturdy synth-and-guitar backbone.
“The trio’s free-flowing chemistry means Lost Themes IV: Noir runs like a well-oiled machine—the 1951 Jaguar XK120 Roadster from Kiss Me Deadly, perhaps, or the 1958 Plymouth Fury from John’s own Christine. It’s a chemistry that’s helped power one of the most productive stretches of John’s creative life, and Noir proves that it’s nowhere near done yielding brilliant results.”
You can pre-save Lost Themes IV: Noir right now! And listen to the new track below…
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