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Circa - 'Valley of the Windmill' (Album Premiere)

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I’m having a tough time thinking of a progressive rock band that’s aged better than Yes. The popularity of songs like “Owner of a Lonely Heart” as well as albums like Close to the Edge and Fragile has remained relatively constant, despite the revolving door of musicians that have joined and left the band, not to mention the constant ebb and flow of public opinion on prog as a whole.

Keyboardist Tony Kaye played on such Yes classics as “Yours is No Disgrace” and the aforementioned “Owner of a Lonely Heart,” not to mention toured with David Bowie in support of Station to Station, and formed the band Circa with Yes drummer Alan White and current Yes bassist Billy Sherwood who – fun fact! – produced “Hellraiser” by Motorhead.

Circa’s been around since 2007, but Valley of the Windmill is their first album in five years, and it’s not the heaviest thing around, but to these ears it sounds more like classic Yes than that band has since the mid-’90s, with a little heavy metal heaviness sprinkled in throughout, particularly on the final track, “Our Place Under the Sun.” Expect pure vintage progressive glory from the stream below.

Valley of the Windmill is out tomorrow, July 8 via Frontiers Music. Order it here. Follow Circa on Facebook.