Establishing the mood with warm guitar strums and an intricate layered melody, Sycamore Hill open Circles with an ethereal classic rock adjacency, a bit of 90s grunge and cinematic allure. The opus expands with introspective prose – atmospheric and poetic.
We immediately imagine Circles being featured in a poignant montage scene in a TV show like Buffy The Vampire Slayer whilst the band performs it live on stage at The Bronze. We deeply connect with the high emotional quotient and the raw authenticity that transpires.
The guitar performances are sublime, and the build of the track is elegant, growing with the heightened drama of the vocals before a transcendental solo, accompanied by a cerebral scream, and emotive breakdown for the finale, which leaves us yearning for more. We could also see the track scoring a sync placement in the recent film Forbidden Fruits, or a cult movie like The Craft.
The Birmingham-based band shares, “Circles is about an individual being entrapped within a failing relationship with a lover. The song speaks of conflict and confusion within one’s mind and this is reinforced by the lyrics ‘I don’t know what I’ll do’.”
Sycamore Hill continue, “The song’s title inherently links to confusion and the feeling that this imagined individual is going round in circles and cannot find their way out of the conflict they are feeling. The vocal scream within the guitar solo ultimately becomes a scream out in emotional pain and a sign of not being able to control this conflict anymore.”
Fans of Fleetwood Mac, T.H.C., and The Eagles would be able to connect with what Sycamore Hill are delivering. We learn that they are a female-fronted band with two lead vocalists Rhea Busst and Sophie Powell, along with guitarist Astrid Wilson, Joseph Boyle on bass, Kaid Dhalia-Parsons on guitar, and Jake Mayhew sharing his skill on drums, as he also looks after the band’s aesthetic – which we are obsessed with.
Naturally, we have added Circles to our New Music Spotlight playlist, and our TIMELESS playlist, whilst we anticipate future releases from Sycamore Hill.