Tom Lynch

Chicago instrumentalists Russian Circles have jetted themselves into a small spotlight as one of the city's most inventive offerings, fusing elements of metal, math core and ambient space rock into an aggressive, forceful and ambitious Flameshovel Records debut, "Enter."

"Basically we'll have some riffs, and we'll work on those for a while, and they are springboards into other ideas," says guitarist Mike Sullivan of the band's songwriting process. With "Enter," he says the band was "very clear with the songs, from part to part. We knew we wanted good segues between songs, but we left some things open to spontaneity. A lot of bands will have a great song on their record, and then break into another song out of nowhere. We [finished] with one giant piece, with different themes to it."

Sullivan says that the band started open-minded to the idea of having a vocalist, but it became clear early on that that wasn't meant to happen. "We didn't rule it out in the beginning," he says. "We just kind of started writing these songs and there wasn't room for vocals. When we started, we stripped everything down, we wanted it to be really minimal. With one more thing, like vocals, it would take away from the songs."

Sullivan enjoys the freedom of writing instrumental music and not depending on themes injected by lyricists. "Instrumental music is more expressive," he says. "It's easier to connect with, more emotional. Where with lyrics--they can drive you in a certain direction. With music, interpretation is up to the listener."

The daring complexity of Russian Circles' song structures pounds at the ears and brain, creating a wonder to see live and in person, a test through headphones and, proof positive, a headache for the band. "It's definitely challenging," Sullivan laughs as he talks about the difficulty of playing the songs. "People sometimes ask me, `Do you get bored playing the same songs every night?' I'm like, `Man, I wish.' Every night we're up there sweating bullets. It's no walk in the park. There's definitely a two-drink maximum before we go on stage."

Russian Circles celebrate the release of "Enter" on May 27 at Schubas, 3159 North Southport, (773)525-2508, at 7pm and 10pm. $10.

(2006-05-23)

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