I've mentioned Russian Circles here before, and today you can stream their entire record from spinner.com. Station is the highly anticipated follow up to their 2006 debut, Enter. I've had the chance to preview the record as well, and for those expecting a similar sounding record, prepare to alter those expectations before you sit down for a listen. Station shies away from the bombastic moments of its predecessor, but creates more jangly, soundscape-y type jams, which is by no means a negative. Drummer Dave Turncrantz really picks and chooses his moments to flex his percussive might, but even the lighter moments of the record are anchored by a tight rhythm section that help the songs flow from one idea to the next. The guitar work of Mike Sullivan is technically complex yet never comes off as sterile or gimmicky. Take a listen to 'Versus', the fourth song on the album, and you'll hear what I mean. I haven't listened to the record enough to make a definitive decision on just how this sophomore effort stacks up to the first record, but on its own, it absolutely makes for a record you should pick up and listen to... like today.

If you want to check them out live, come to the Russian Circles Record Release show at Subterranean this Saturday night. Milwaukee favorites Call Me Lightning open, and Tight Phantomz play second (yea, I know... shameless self promotion... so sue me).