Welcome back, weirdos: Circulatory System flows once again

It's been nearly seven years since the Circulatory System released it's first, and only, album - a 22-track tripped-out treasure chest of soothing psychedelic rock that explores the eccentricities coursing through one's cerebellum. The Athens, Georgia, group, led by Will Cullen Hart, notably consolidated remnants of Hart's Olivia Tremor Control (Number Two to Neutral Milk Hotel as most revered band of Nineties indie rock prophets The Elephant Six collective) with other musicians from E6, including NMH's Jeff Mangum, a.k.a. God, who has since moved on to continue more reclusive projects. Circulatory System, on the way to releasing its second album, suggested a full revival of its orchestra of weirdness might land soon with three new songs recently uploaded onto MySpace. Judging from "Tiny Concerts," "Same Place" and "Path of the Parallels," it sounds like nothing much has changed since 2001. That's a good thing. Still kicking: Hart's soft, hypnotizing vocals that tender equal doses of aural sedative and meditative chant; an overriding obsession with spirituality ("No matter what you do/no matter what you say/no matter who your friends are/no matter what you've done/you're heading to the same old place/it's part of being"); and kaleidoscopic instrumentation (offbeat acoustic melodies, slack drumbeats, melancholy strings, spacey effects, liberating saxophone, dull and dopey clarinet) that coalesces into a comforting druggie groove. That Circulatory System's pulse remains vital should be cherished news for those who revel in both mind-altering rock 'n' roll and caps and stems.