There’s a bit of the bittersweet sprinkled
throughout the sixteen songs on Circles and Squares and it begins with the
album title. Seth Swirsky’s songwriting makes great hay of the eternal
struggles between men and women in the name of love and his unfettered
sincerity will win over many. His skills go far beyond mere earnestness
however. Swirsky’s compositional style thinks big picture and even the album’s
minor songs are driven by inspired, high flown melodies and spot on harmony
vocals. It’s a skill set he’s honed over a thirty plus year career as a working
songwriter and the sixteen songs compromising Circles and Squares reflect the
mastery of technique that raises his artistry up another level.
“Shine” opens the album with a Beatlesque flair of
melody and an airy arrangement that never seems to touch the ground. “Circles
and Squares” is one of the album’s marquee numbers and features a number of
inventive tempo changes and turns in texture capable of drawing even the most
cynical listeners into its web. Swirsky pulls out some light rock chops on the
slightly unsettled “Old Letter”, but even this rawer moment is driven by a
strong, definable melody. Swirsky’s quite capable of working up the extra oomph
required for this song. He takes his first run at an enormous, cinematic ballad
on “Far Away” and its glittering surfaces are served further by the song’s
elegantly phrased melodies.
The mid-tempo saunter and warm, lighthearted vocals
of “Trying to Keep It Simple” help make it one of the more likeable songs on
Circles and Squares and creates an interesting contrast with the sometimes
bittersweet nature of the lyrics. The tempo varies some on “Belong”, but
eventually settles into a steady but
non-aggressive groove that slowly rolls over the top of the listeners. It has
an understated odd edge, a slightly twist on the melody that distinguishes it
from its obvious influences. “The Simplest Way” is one of two absolute stunners
on the album that are unmitigated love songs. This is the more fragile and
delicately wrought of the two despite its moderate pacing and has a sensitive,
but palpably charismatic vocal from Swirsky. “With Her Now” is a song of pure
longing. The hushed quality Swirsky brings to his vocal doesn’t make the
longing any less apparent; instead, it has the feeling of desire barely
restrained. The second brilliant love song on the album, “I Don’t Have Anything
(If I Don’t Have You)” has more of the earnestness mentioned earlier than,
arguably, any other song on Circles and Squares. It hits all of the expected,
satisfying notes musically and sets itself apart lyrically thanks to Swirsky
replacing all the standard tropes from songs of this type with genuine personal
confession that anyone familiar with his biographical details will recognize.
Circles and Squares isn’t bashful about flouting
its influences, but those influences never dictate the songwriting. Instead,
they infuse the tracklisting with an added strain of color and provide a frame
of reference for some listeners to hang onto. Seth Swirsky has been at this a
long time, but it’s well past time that his audience gets a true solo effort
from him, released under his own name, the spotlight his alone.
9 out of 10 stars.
Shannon Cowden
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