Music reviews. CD reviews. Critically hip!

I made the mistake of listening to Circles by A Chinese Firedrill, immediately after I finished reviewing another disc that I found occasionally interesting, but more often ordinary. Oddly, though I physically got up and changed the CD in the player, I more or less forgot that fact that first spin through Circles, so strongly did that previous impression apply to this album. I put the CD away for a couple of weeks, to try and give A Chinese Firedrill some space to breath, to be judged on its own merits. But that time away does little to alter the original impression, and given the origins of this CD/project, that surprises me.

A Chinese Firedrill is a front for long time Armored Saint and Fates Warning bassist Joey Vera’s second solo album. His efforts on the product certainly deserves kudos – Vera played all the instruments heard on the disc, save percussion, as well as providing the competent vocal work heard on Circles. This project is far more focused than his first solo effort, “A Thousand Faces.” That earlier record, true to its name, offered a look at various aspects of Vera’s musical personality, but did so without any particular focus. This time around, there is a particular emphasis, with Vera calling on his Rush/Pink Floyd/Porcupine Tree/later Fates Warning influences to create an album largely built on atmospheric, occasionally heavy progressive rock.

Frankly, this stuff should be right up my alley, because that is exactly what I’d cite if anyone were to ask me for a description of my musical comfort food. I *should* be eating this stuff right up, but instead, I find myself calling on the description I used for that other album: Circles is occasionally interesting, but more often, it’s just ordinary, perfectly fine for background music, something I’ll pull out on occasion to listen to, but not something I’m likely to seek out on a regular basis.