aaamusic | On 30, Mar 2011

It’s been too long since power-trios ruled the airwaves. Kent-based Black Circles certainly think so and with “Final Straw” – a confident and muscular follow up to debut single “Little Girl” (iTunes/August 2010) – they offer a stunningly persuasive alternative to the jaded Jam-isms of the so-called “power trios” of recent memory.

Prior to Black Circles, Josman and Nishihara paid their dues in the UK underground scene in a series of bands before fate brought them together in the heart of Kent. Everything fell into place when they recruited drummer Tris in 2010 and already the threesome have picked up glowing reviews in Japanese press, extensive radio coverage online and across the UK as well as further afield in LA (where “Great Unknowns Presents” featured their debut single last year). “Final Straw” promises to follow up that success up with a more developed sound, a sonic intensity and proficiency all too sorely missed right now and the promise of a busy Festival season (with slots at Indie Week Ireland, farm Festival and The Grande Finale Festival) as well as further material later in the year.

“Final Straw” boasts virtuosic, jagged guitar pyrotechnics reminiscent of Reuben at their “Scared Of the Police”/ “Freddy Krueger” finest, a stadium filling, Muse-sized middle eight and the kind of heavy hooks, fuzzed out bass lines and expansive, masterful drumming that make bands like Deftones so appealing.

Counting bands like Them Crooked Vultures, Audioslave, Foo Fighters, Lamb of God and Gojira amongst their influences it’s clear that Black Circles have their sights set on big things and with songs like “Final Straw” in their arsenal: crashing, soaring and, most importantly, delivering where it matters, maybe this is the sound of the straw that breaks Black Circles into the mainstream.

They have filmed a video to accompany the release here: