4 days ago
Going back to a 70s sound, Styx as progressive as ever on new album
They are one of the longest-running classic rock bands and have countless hit songs. And yet to this day, Styx can still be misunderstood.
Thanks to such classics as the ballad "Babe" or the soft folk-rock number "Boat On A River" which only made the charts in Europe, Styx is often considered to be a soft-rock group. This, even though they were one of the first successful progressive-rock bands in the United States.
Now, on their 18th album titled "Circling From Above," this progressive style is once again clearly in evidence.
A broad musical palette
"I think that Styx, almost notoriously, were never critics' darlings. This is long before I was in the band," says Lawrence Gowan, who has been a singer and keyboard player for Styx since 1999.
"They had a very wide palette that they drew from," the 68-year-old musician says. "They could be very much a pop band. They could be a heavy rock band, and they could also be a progressive band. There were so many ways that you could relate to them that maybe one of those elements might be not what your taste is."
Yet all the criticism notwithstanding, Styx has since the 1970s succeeded in filling large concert halls with regular tours. But most recently they have once again been extremely productive in the recording studio. "Circling From Above" is their third album in eight years. This is important both for the band and the group's fans, Gowan argues.
"You're proving to yourselves and to your audience that you're still viable, that you still have thoughts, musical thoughts and lyrical thoughts that are occurring to you that you feel are relevant to 2025. That's very important," he says.
Song texts are a matter of interpretation
On the latest album, the subject matter is the conflict between technology and nature, artificial intelligence and a bit of science fiction. Styx is never outright political—who can blame them in these turbulent times?—but they are also not completely apolitical, says Scotland-born Gowan. Listeners can interpret the songs for themselves.
"I think our intention is basically to say something specific in an unspecific way," he says, adding about this approach: "It's the best."
Musically, "Circling From Above" is once again a versatile work with polyphonic vocals, classic synthesizers and complex arrangements thanks to the influences of the various songwriters and singers in the group.
The intro is inevitably reminiscent of Pink Floyd, but Gowan also said he was influenced by Genesis. The aim was to make a modern classic rock album in the style of the 70s.
Styx succeeded in this. Highlights include the melodic rock number "It's Clear" and the folk-rock song "Blue Eyed Raven" sung by Tommy Shaw to the accompaniment of Spanish guitars and mandolins.
Music that unfolds slowly
The 71-year-old Shaw's voice still sounds like it did in the 70s, when he joined the band in his early 20s and immediately shaped Styx's sound with hits such as "Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)" and "Too Much Time on My Hands".
Such catchy songs are not immediately recognizable on "Circling From Above". But the more you listen to the album, which almost seems like a concept album, the more the music unfolds.
However, Styx won't have too much space for the new songs on the upcoming US concert tour. Because they will first perform the eight-song classic album "The Grand Illusion" from 1977 in full.
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