The Circle (Wipers album)

The Circle
Studio album by
Wipers
Released1988
GenrePost-punk
Length32:49
LabelRestless
ProducerGreg Sage
Wipers chronology
Follow Blind
(1987) 		The Circle
(1988) 		Silver Sail
(1993)

The Circle is a studio album by the American band Wipers, released on Restless in 1988.[1] The album was recorded at frontman Greg Sage's studio, 421 Sound, in Portland, Oregon.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[3]
The Great Alternative & Indie Discography6/10[2]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide[4]
Spin Alternative Record Guide6/10[5]

Trouser Press wrote that "The Circle‘s scorching opener, 'I Want a Way', and its tumultuous title track are red herrings for Wipers' business as usual."[6] The Boston Globe determined that Greg Sage is "less the master of that massive tension/release valve, and more the prisoner of straight-out, churning, semi-preachy post-punk."[7]

The Rough Guide to Rock wrote that "jazzy distorted riffing hadn't sounded this invigorating since Hendrix or Robert Fripp had their heyday."[8]

Track listing

All songs written by Greg Sage.

  1. "I Want a Way" - 2:35
  2. "Time Marches On" - 2:50
  3. "All the Same" - 3:36
  4. "True Believer" - 3:54
  5. "Good Thing" - 2:28
  6. "Make or Break" - 3:40
  7. "The Circle" - 4:33
  8. "Goodbye Again" - 3:19
  9. "Be There" - 2:48
  10. "Blue & Red" - 3:06

Personnel

References

  1. ^ "Wipers | Biography & History". AllMusic.
  2. ^ Strong, M. C. (Martin Charles) (April 24, 1999). "The great alternative & indie discography". Edinburgh : Canongate – via Internet Archive.
  3. ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 8. MUZE. p. 735.
  4. ^ MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 1239.
  5. ^ Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. 1995. p. 435.
  6. ^ "Wipers". Trouser Press. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  7. ^ "Fury and a Sense of Dynamics". Arts and Film. The Boston Globe. 21 Jan 1989. p. 55.
  8. ^ Buckley, Peter (October 30, 2003). The Rough Guide to Rock. Rough Guides. ISBN 9781843531050 – via Google Books.