Cirrhus

Every time I need to remind myself why I even associate with Cirrhus, for all of their meandering and general lack of songwriting, I come back to this self-titled EP. I haven't quite heard all the releases in Cirrhus's relatively sprawling discography, but I've heard enough to get the feeling that the Cirrhus EP very likely stands head-and-shoulders above everything else they've made to date, including the also-self-titled full-length.

There are several things that make this two-song EP work more than the average Cirrhus release. For one, the length is much, much more tolerable. I would still prefer that the songs be a tad shorter, but they're better at managing their length efficiently (more on that later) and while this is a somewhat difficult listen even at 11 minutes, it's definitely not as overwhelming as other Cirrhus releases have been for me. Secondly, the production is actually somewhat reasonable this time around. The guitars are raw, but in a flimsy and adaptable way, as opposed to their 2008 demo where they were just brickwalled. The drums are a bit too loud, but honestly, I'm just glad that the music has some room to breathe on this release. Cirrhus's music, being simplistic and organic, works best when given space and presence, and that's clearly demonstrated here. The howled, wind-withered vocals are more audible, which adds to the feeling that the music has actual dynamics to boast of, and there's more room in the mix for you to hear little subtleties in the guitars and the drumming. Another plus side is that you can hear the bass here, and take note of how cleverly it bounces around and accents whatever the guitars are doing.

It also helps that the riffs this time around are seriously really fucking good. "Time Honored Barrier" boasts the best I've heard from the band, starting out with a soaring and airy set of tremolo before eventually developing into the band's trademark strands of high-pitched abstract earthy melodic chords, and later on progressing towards a surprisingly fun section where the drums switch to polka beats and the guitars begin playing this strange riff akin to a very melodic hoedown. The music progresses down several different paths from that point, and although the song is six minutes long, it doesn't feel like it gets lost navel-gazing; there are enough rhythm changes and striking riffs for it to maintain your attention throughout that time. "Reopening" essentially follows suit: while slightly less memorable than the A-side track, it still offers plenty of interesting melodies and cool riffs that I find myself humming even when I haven't listened to this release for weeks.

If every Cirrhus release were like this, I would be a bit less hesitant about being an outright supporter of them. I have no idea how this particular release managed to so effectively escape every flaw which made both past and future Cirrhus releases so mediocre, but it's done it wonderfully. I can only hope the band somehow figure out how to make music like this again in the future.