Circling Over Has Mastered the Duality of Doomgaze

Opposites attract, but the exact reasons why that's an accepted fact of life are open to interpretation. Still, there's definitely a magnetic pull that closes the gulf between differences to form a unique commonality and bond, whether in relationships or art, particularly music. The softest and harshest sounds, no matter the style or genre, help to offset each other, affording listeners a reprieve of sorts.

Musicians who experiment with that interplay of sound find a sonic equilibrium that transmits tranquility like a siren’s song. It’s a hypnotic hum that tickles the brain just right. Denver post-metal band Circling Over tapped into that, and the members are discovering just how entrancing mixing such subgenres as shoegaze and doom metal can be.

“Somebody mentioned to me, ‘Man, your dynamics swing from super mellow to bobbing my head.’ Another said, ‘I wasn’t really expecting that,’” says vocalist-guitarist Anthony Fonzi, recalling recent fan reactions after a show in Fort Collins. “I took it as a compliment.”

Similarly, during a Halloween getdown at Clancy’s Irish Pub in Wheat Ridge, Circling Over found itself on a bill with a few local bands that can really throw down — and its members weren't sure how it would go at first. “We were definitely the odd band out as far as heaviness goes,” recalls bassist Joe Elmore. “There were some pretty heavy bands. We thought it might be a little weird mix for us, but the reception actually went really well. People were into the cool, chill vibe into the heavier parts and back into the chill vibe, so [it] seems the dynamics work for a lot of people who are into different music.”

It's clear that Circling Over, which formed in 2022 after Elmore posted an online call for like-minded musicians, knows how to put audiences under a spell with its captivating stir of somber shoegaze and plodding doom. “I had a little bit of an idea, but mostly I just wanted to play music again,” Elmore explains, adding that he listed some influences he hoped would outline the type of project he was looking to put together, including Cult of Luna and Holy Fawn.

“It’s definitely evolved and changed since the initial vision, which I’m pretty happy about," he adds. The act's unique type of doomgaze developed naturally once Elmore, Fonzi, guitarist Bobby Malone and drummer Andrew Castanheira got together.

“We kind of deviated,” Fonzi adds. “I let my guard down a little bit and let my influences take over in some of the songwriting, and it developed.”

The band’s breadth can be heard on its four-song EP Never, released last year following a trio of 2023 singles. The title track starts with a lick reminiscent of Once More ’Round the Sun-era Mastodon, before kicking into overdrive by the end. There’s a song like “Torch,” which flirts with Deafheaven-esque blackgaze, particularly the harshness that punctuates the second half. “That was intentional. Just adding a new little spice here and there,” Elmore says.

Then there's the latest Circling Over offering, “Eve” — a distorted downward spiral of reverbed baritones and cascading cymbals unleashed last month by Braeburn Records, the recently resurrected Fort Collins independent label. It’s also the first glimpse of what to expect from the quartet’s proper LP debut, Amends, which releases on August 8, also courtesy of Braeburn.

“There are a lot of questions being asked, a lot of dark and honest questions, in the lyrical content,” Fonzi says of the album. “Appreciating the here and now and not waiting for all the things you want to do. There are different ways of saying it, but that’s the overwhelming theme of the record. Maybe it doesn’t come across in the most positive way of saying it in the lyrics, but it’s there.”

Before you get a chance to hear the release, though, Circling Over is playing a matinee showcase at HQ on Sunday, June 22, with peers No Fauna and Mood Swing Misery, courtesy of Braeburn Records and 4130 Management.
The band is also stoked about the “Eve” music video that dropped on Friday the 13th, shot at Westminster Castle by Gut Check Media. Mother Nature must have sensed Circling Over’s intentions at the shoot, as the weather fit the occasion. “It was kind of a gloomy day and shitty and uncomfortable for us," Fonzi says, "but it lent itself to dark, spooky results and to that song."

“I’m glad it was gloomy that day," Elmore adds. "I feel like the vibe would have been a little different if it was bright and sunny, so the overcast layer and occasional rain shower definitely put a nicer vibe on the whole video shoot."

The cyclical cloud cover seemed in tune with Circling Over’s music — notably the song “Beneath the Storm,” which is where the four found themselves. “There were some moments when we were doing a take or two, then it would start to sprinkle, so we’d have to pack up all our stuff and throw it underneath some overhang real fast, then wait for the rain to pass and go back and do it again,” Elmore recalls.

While weather forecasts are harder to pin down, Circling Over seems to have settled into a perfect musical pattern. “I feel like we’re definitely getting into our groove and our own sound,” Elmore shares. “It’s taken a little while to get here, but I like where we’re at so far.”

“I would also say, I’m not afraid to keep going on that adventure and evolving it," Fonzi agrees, adding that the band will "revolve" around "the core of where we’re at."

Malone, who joined in 2024, appreciates his bandmates' deliberate nature, especially since post-metal or rock can sound like a riff salad if too many ingredients are thrown in. “Being a newer member, they stay more to the script. They don’t venture out and do change after change after change after change. You want to find a vibe and lock into it,” he explains. “There are a lot of dynamics and changes, but there aren’t, like, 35 parts in their songs. It really does lock in a mood and sticks to a story.”

That wiggle room allows for variations — swinging from shoegaze to doom, clean choruses to gutturals — but with concise results, as evidenced by the group’s sweet-spot runtimes of four to six minutes. “That’s one of my favorite types of music to write, is real dynamic music," Elmore says. "I just find a lot of enjoyment hearing a song that starts out one direction and ends up in a different direction and maybe goes back the other way. I found that there’s more creativity involved when it comes to writing songs that are a little more dynamic. We don’t mind reaching into different elements of other genres and seeing if they can mix well with our songs. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t. It’s just all part of the creative process.”

In Circling Over’s case, Fonzi says, “It feels heavier and more chill, if that makes any sense."

It does, and while Fonzi doesn’t consider Circling Over “a moshing band,” it’s still a display of how massive such a duality can sound.

“There’s a thing about a band that’s always heavy. You just sort of get used to it. It almost gets numbing after a while,” Malone says.

“The definition of heavy is sometimes just a contrast of what’s not. We’re not chugging thrash metal or anything like that, but we do have large amps on stage,” he concludes. “When we go through these vibey, shoegazey moments that are nice and clean, and we do hit that low, it really hits. That contrasting moment, like from white to black, it just hits hard. It delivers.”

Circling Over, with No Fauna and Mood Swing Misery, 2 p.m. Sunday, June 22, HQ, 60 South Broadway. Tickets are $15.