Excuse, please, but I gotta say this. I LOVE THIS EP!
We are guided into this listening experience by "Are We Listening?"--a gentle keyboard wash, backward-looped tapes that grab our attention. Just as we wonder what's happening here, the stop-start drum beat of "untitled" kicks in. A snare count-off and a wonderful harmony guitar riff sweeps to questioning lyrics finding us "hidden in the Savior's sight." It's been said that these Northwesterners carry the spirit of Pink Floyd. We can add King Crimson to that after hearing this one.
A soothing wind carries us into "I Love the Rain," with (Beach Boys) Dennis Wilson-like plaintive vocals, such a delicious, slow building love song to the Father. Here's where the Pink Floyd thing fits like a glove: think "Us and Them." "Like I Do," a late period Beatles soundalike musically--is that George Harrison?--gives us a slice of life through God's eyes. A near-perfect pop song.
As amazing as it seems, we could say the very same thing for "The Way That Love Is Made," with hints of Badfinger, ELO, and Wilburys. The heavy truth is that love begets love lyrically. Musically, the final track, "Dead Man," contains all the above. Lyrically it reminds the listener over and over that "He who calls upon His name shall be saved." You will notice that I didn't say the closing track. "Dead Man" ends like the EP begins--it is a loop!
The Listening is a compassionately constructed EP intensely delivered in a heart-on-their-sleeve/salvation-in-mind manner. Although the Rock and Roll Worship Circus draws musically from the past, the sound is fresh and alive. Powerful!
4.5 tocks
Other coverage for this album
The Phantom Tollbooth 2005Reviewed by Ryan RoFrom the opening moments of Worship Circus becomes...The Listening, it's clearly the band's name change is not merely cosmetic. Lush keyboards and almost-lazy synth bassline bring the record in as hushed, throaty vocals deliver line after line in a hypnotic cadence. "Glory of the Feared" is one of twelve outstanding tracks that drip, sweat and bleed passion, agony, heartache and hope. Lyrically,…The Phantom Tollbooth 2004Reviewed by Greg AdamsAfter steady musical strides forward with the consecutive releases of Welcome to the Rock 'n' Roll Worship Circus and A Beautiful Glow, the Rock 'n' Roll Worship Circus has emerged from a hyperspace jump with the release of their latest recording, The Listening EP. This collection of six tracks is the first offering from the new line-up, featuring founding members Gabriel Wilson (vocals/guitar)…
