By all accounts, Circa Survive shouldn’t be here. The band’s frontman, Anthony Green, sometimes can’t even believe that the band has survived all the demons and turmoil over the course of their career. But Green and his bandmates have continually persevered through it all, alive and thriving with their sixth full-length album (and Hopeless Records debut) The Amulet, the band’s darkest and most personal piece of art yet.

The hazy opener, “Lustration,” begins with Green’s familiar croon before erupting into an unshakeable groove provided by drummer Steve Clifford. It’s a warning of sorts (“Beneath your finger nails/they’ll find small pieces of stone/you’ll face the sun/cut with the pressure point”) mixed in with Green’s desperate pleas (“I don’t want to be the anchor on your chest“ and “I don’t want to see the moment you forget”). Elsewhere, the album’s ominous vibe penetrates on tracks like “Premonition Of The Hex” and “At Night It Gets Worse,” with the latter being a career highlight. Its glacial pace slowly picks up as the implied dread increases, leaving the listener feeling uneasy. We also get some of Will Yip’s best production work ever – the thrilling guitar riff that kicks off “Stay” is incredibly crisp and Nick Beard’s bass work across the record (especially on the Juturna-esque “Tunnel Vision” ) is thoroughly killer, providing the backbone to the vast majority of The Amulet. Colin Frangicetto and Brendan Ekstrom’s dueling guitar acrobatics are a pleasure as well – “Never Tell A Soul” never lets up the pace as Green tears through the chorus.

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We’ve seen this movie before. Band reaches moderate success on indie label, signs to major, releases major label debut, album gets little to no push, band and major separate mutually. It’s the most predictable cycle of events since every Katherine Heigl movie ever. But the cycle’s most recent addition, Circa Survive, isn’t your typical band. Their major label debut Blue Sky Noise was a killer album – a staggering cornucopia of everything you loved from their first two albums. But let’s be real, Circa Survive is too zealous of a group to be constrained by the limitations of a major (or any) label (but it was admirable that they kicked the tires with the ol’ major try. You know, YOLO and all that garbage). So it made absolute sense when the band announced that they were going to go the DIY route with their fourth album Violent Waves.

There can be a great deal of expectations for a sophomore record – especially when a lot of people questioned if said record would ever even come to fruition. Luckily for fans, Circa Survive is indeed the “real deal” and not just some one-off creative sidebar for prolific frontman Anthony Green. So, riding the wave of success from the well-received Juturna, and an exhaustive tour schedule, the band is back with the hotly-anticipated On Letting Go to show just where they have been the past two years and what they have brought back with them.

Circa Survive’s debut record hits stores with an undeniable amount of hype behind it. Vocalist Anthony Green is one of the most respected and idolized singers in the scene today. He is of course known for his work in such bands as Saosin, Zolof the Rock and Roll Destroyer, etc. His latest endeavor comes courtesy of Equal Vision’s Circa Survive, a technical indie rock band with interesting time signatures and melodies. The music itself can be compared to Further Seems Forever, but with a bit more quirk to it. Anthony’s vocals vary from straight forward blasting of melodies (“Act Appalled”) to bizarre rhythms matched with slightly odd musicianship. The album’s opener, “Holding Someone’s Hair Back” is an example of Circa’s weird side. Still, the intentional clash between vocals and offbeats melds together nicely for a solid head-nodding tune. The second track, “Act Appalled,” is easily my favorite on the album. Saosin fans will love this song, as Anthony hits the peaks of his range and strains his voice on the higher notes. Listeners who are unfamiliar with Anthony’s style of singing will be pleasantly surprised at his ability to max out his range and turn each note into a second of raw emotion. The music is basic enough to let the song be driven by Anthony’s voice, which I see as a smart decision.