Hissi by Circle

Nowadays, with Circle's vast discography, you've come to expect the unexpected. Every other release seems to take a weird u-turn or completely wander off from the main autobahn, into the mysterious forests. In 1996, after releasing a few seven inches and two albums (Meronia and Zopalki) of guitar heavy hypnotic art rock, Circle still seemed like a band that's progressing somewhat logically in their musical experiments. Hissi is the first "illogical" album in the ever-expanding, logic-defying discography of the band. Experimental puppet theatre music, demented lounge lizard grooves and cosmic rhythm music soundscapes that discard the band's earlier guitar heavy approach almost completely. Hypnotic and strange like the first two albums, but still weird and unexpected. Psychedelic music without the usual hippie guitar solos and spacious effects or druggy trance techno thump. Not formally psychedelic, yet truly psychedelic, psychedelic in spirit.