CIRCULATORY SYSTEM
Signal Morning

After a mysterious eight-year hiatus from recording and performing, local Elephant 6 mainstay Circulatory System has reappeared on the music scene with a full-length record that is well worth the wait.

“Signal Morning,” which builds on the band’s 2001 self-titled debut, showcases a familiar but pleasantly experimental sound, fusing the elements of psychedelic, folk, and indie-rock that made the band a household name during its first incarnation as The Olivia Tremor Control. And the sound still serves the band well.

Frontman Will Cullen Hart knows what he likes and he knows how to present it.

The record as a whole is an ambient, psychedelic, experimental mash-up of sounds, textures and effects that results in an enchanting and mystifying record.

What is perhaps most remarkable is that each song is able to stand alone as a microcosmic representation of the record as a whole: Each piece is a rollicking, tumultuous auditory circus from start to finish.

“Signal Morning” is a vibrant collection of complimentary sounds, as shorter and more simply constructed songs such as “Electronic Diversion,” “News From the Heavenly Loom” and “I You We” punctuate the otherwise heavily layered and intricately arranged record.

It’s in the longer, more elaborate songs such as “Blasting Through,” “Particle Parades” and title track “Signal Morning” that Hart and his collaborators polish and refine their psychedelic vision in a smattering of resonant sounds and interdependent textures.

VERDICT: “Signal Morning” explores familiar musical territory with a renewed voice and a complex psychedelic vision. The record is an ambitious auditory experiment that, fortunately for the listener, results in a satisfying psych-rock masterpiece.