Circleslide - Echoes of the Light
iTunes Review
After weathering a loss of equipment during the devastating Nashville floods of 2010, Circleslide turns Echoes of the Light into a statement of struggle and triumph. Gabriel Martinez’s raspy-edged vocals are well matched to his lyric themes — there’s a sense of spiritual challenge and resolve to his latest compositions. The title tune is a rallying-cry for disaffected believers, given heft by a buoyant bass line and luminous guitar riffs. Just as galvanizing is “The Litany,” a dramatic number that accepts the world’s suffering in its search for salvation. Much of the album is given over to modern praise songs, with “Open Door” and “Nothing Compares to You” standing out among them. A mixture of gentle acoustic guitar and spacey feedback effects enriches the reflective “You Are Everything.” In these tracks, Circleslide occupies a niche between the heroic pop/rock of the Fray and the adventuresome sounds that the Choir pioneered two decades ago. Created during a time of strain, Echoes of the Light resonates with hard-won experience and rock-solid faith.