The Gurus - Closing Circles

The Gurus - Closing Circles

2010, Rainbow Quartz

Barcelona, Spain power trio The Gurus return today with their fourth album, Closing Circles.  Musical chameleons, The Gurus seem to change their sound from album to album.   Starting out with a late-term Beatles sound, The Gurus have worked their way through musical history to the footsteps of grunge over their first three albums.  With Closing Circles The Gurus was all over the map, from 1960’s psychedelia and folk to a subtle Americana sound.

Closing Circles is a bumpy musical ride.  Like any road trip there are sights and sounds of interest spaced out by long stretches of non-descript landscape.  The album opens with “I Don’t Care About It”, a solid piece of Americana with a backbeat.  It’s a great start to the album, catchy yet understated.  The Gurus build a solid wall of music on songs such as “A Walk Again”, “Lunatic Lover” and “Be My Wife”, but “Strange Believer” really sets the tone for The Gurus, blending Americana with a psychedelic 1960’s sound and folk.  “I Put A Spell On You” is seriously catchy, showing a distinct pop sensibility with a 1960’s kick.  This is the sort of song that gets stuck in your head for days on end.

“Necronomicon” feels like it wants to be catchy, but the sound is muddled and the vocals are buried too deep in the arrangement.  “The Trip” is catchy, driven and dark.  A decent Americana turn that foretells another flat stretch of musical land.  The Gurus wake listeners from a daze five songs later with “Lucifer Sam” and a vibrant guitar lick that sounds like it was borrowed from Cy Coleman’s “The Best Is Yet To Come”.  Closing Circles bows with a reprise of “Be My Wife” and an “Untitled” instrumental outro.

Closing Circles is a trip worth making, but understand that like any trip there can be long stretches between points of real interest.  The album as a whole is solid, but there are a few gems here worth waiting for.  The Gurus are a solid, working-man’s band, the sort you might most enjoy on a Saturday night.

Rating: 3 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about The Gurus at www.myspace.com/thegurusbcn.  Closing Circles is available as a CD or Download from Amazon.com.  The album is also available digitally from iTunes.