circuit breaker: hands return to shake

Circuit Breaker is a band split in half. On the one hand, there is the jagged guitar and maudlin singing of Peter Simpson, which slots into the lineage of expansive and gothic punk ala Killing Joke, Bauhaus, Wire, etc. Pushing against it is the production approach of his brother Edward. Washes of glassy FM synth melodies are counterbalanced with bursts of electronic harshness, recalling artists such as Autechre or Pan Sonic. Hands Return To Shake is their second full-length. Moving on from the previous record, My Descent into Capital, Hands Return is a much more personal and emotive work. Simultaneously a reaffirmation and a deconstruction of influences, the orthodoxies of minimal-synth and post-punk are stretched and squeezed to breaking point. Circuit Breaker is a band who relish in holding together contradictions. Both a rock band and an electronic act, they have a blunt and direct production approach which is full of technical detail.