Divine Circles is the solo project of one Meghan Mulhearn, Asheville, eastern North Carolina resident, songwriter/ violinist whom performs with several bands/ projects, including Critics, Judas Horse, Lunar Creature, Meghanz and U.S. Christmas, and whom has also collaborated to several releases in a wide array of genres.
Now I haven't come across this artist before, so I have to take the info posted at (www.) facebook.com/DivineCircles for gospel truth, when they state that Mulhearn is known for pushing the boundaries of traditional violin playing, by exploring her instrument's potential as one beyond composition. She is said to use effects and electronics in her pieces, creating multiple loops, making beats on the body of the violin, and employing novel techniques in pluck end strumming, while also using the body of the violin as a vocal resonator...often making music unrecognizable as coming from a violin! Her work has been compared to stuff by Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Warren Ellis (of Dirty Three & Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds) on the one side, and more experimental acts such as Aidan Baker and Steve Reich. As Divine Circles, she released a long piece entitled “26 Minutes” on a split cassette (released by experimental tape label Hooker Vision in 2013's spring) with drone artist Villages.
Tagged by the label as “Appalachian Folk” [just so you know, the Appalachians are a mountain range in the East of North America, ranging from the NE of Alabama and the North of Georgia; over the East of Tennessee and the West of North-Carolina; the East of Kentucky and the West of Virginia; the whole of West Virginia plus a bit of the SE of Ohio; the complete West of Maryland; most of Pennsylvania (except for parts in the NW and the SE); most of the southern part of New York State; parts of the NW of Connecticut and the West of Massachusetts; the southern and eastern parts of Vermont and the West side of New Hampshire; and most of the northern part of Maine – it runs into Canada to cover a large part of northern New Brunswick and a small part of easternmost Quebec] and “Melancholic Songcraft”, the opening song “Leave” features violins (as in, plural, see...and played in a somewhat regular way too) and singing only, and what with Meghan's signature type of vocals, one might justifiably call this song “Melancholic Folk”. The ensuing “Midwest” is different, in that the violin play is a plucked style, and there's percussion present. But Meghan's voice (with overdub this time) ensures the melancholic side of things. “The Prayer” finds Meghan go instrumental, and playing her violin both in a plucked way without effects, and putting an electrified drone layer on top, there's sóme vocals anyway, but they're quite without lyrics...and there's again percussion (sounded like tambourine to me). Quite a heavy track, by the way! The calmer song “Ingenue” follows, with computer-made drums, and violin played sounding like a very moderately distorted guitar with quite some chorus on it. For closing track “Hymn”, we return to a normal sound of violins, soft drum percussion, and a dual vocal approach.
Conclusions? Miss Meghan is far from being the first to play her violin the way as heard on this mini-album (the 5 songs adding up to just over 26 minutes' worth of listening), and if it wasn't for us being acknowledged in advance that she produces her music (with the exception of those percussions, I'm sure) with her violin in the first place, one would mistake the album for one by a band which is slightly better than the middle-of-the-road. Meaning that the songs are goód, but not exceptional, appreciable but (except perhaps for that “instrumental”) not very memorable. There's a good side to that criticism though, you know, because one would not easily get bored with the offering. To listen to the song “Leave”, surf to (www.) paradigm-recordings.com. For even more (the album's song “Midwest”, the aforementioned “26 Minutes”, a previously unreleased track, as well as Lunar Creature's “Ancestors”), consult (www.) facebook.com/DivineCircles!