Band: Shadow Circus
Band Website: www.shadowcircusmusic.com
Label: Independent Release
Release Date: 2009
John Fontana of the band Shadow Circus got in touch a while back to let me know they had a new disc out and I said send
it my way. He also said that since I liked the last one I was probably really going to like the new one. And let me tell you he was
absolutely right! The new Shadow Circus is called Whispers and Screams is everything their first release was and then so much more.
The band have downsized to a quartet consisting of John Fontana (guitar, keyboards), Cory Folta (drums), Jason Croft (bass) and David
Bobick (vocals). Matt Masek (bass, cello) still contributes to a couple of tracks as a special guest as do vocalists Dion Dixon, Rasheedah
Dixon and Sahirah Dixon.
There are five tracks Whispers and Screams with the first track “Project Blue” consisting of seven
sections and clocking in at over 30 minutes. It’s an epic based on a Stephen King graphic novel. These compositions are much more
symphonic than their last outing, but at that there are many other musical motifs and influences on display. Shadow Circus place a
great emphasis on writing songs that have a melodic hook and it’s around those hooks that they carefully craft their musical approach
consisting of sweeping musical flourishes, grand crescendos, and majestic swells of music. The music cascades into flurries of musical
notes with guitars and keyboards trading time centre stage and then suddenly the music is pared back to something more atmospheric
and moody. Then just as quickly the time and tempo changes. The band proves they can write in a variety of styles quite competently.
Listen to the ballad “When the Morning Comes” [4:35] with its beautiful multi-part harmonies set against acoustic guitar and piano;
it’s simply a gorgeous track and what a melody! Then we’re treated to “
As I said last time, Shadow
Circus is very modern band with a style that is distinctly their own incorporating all manor of prog influences to come up with their
own American prog sound. I really liked their first album and Whispers and Screams is really about ten-times better. The compositions
are stronger, more complex and more finely arranged and the musicianship is stellar. This is music that you can hum and still can
turn on a dime. Wow. I highly recommend you track down a copy of Shadow Circus’ Whispers and Screams.
