Emerging from one unknown and diving headfirst into another, Pure Reason Revolution return with the successor to their landmark comeback record, ‘Eupnea’. This time around, Jon Courtney, Chloe Alper & Greg Jong find themselves adapting to a world that is radically changing before their eyes, and on ‘Above Cirrus’, exorcising the isolation and uncertainty in search of something greater. For Courtney, how could he have ever imagined that in the same breath that the band would release such a personal record about the premature birth of his daughter and the breathing malady she faces, the world at large would face the threat of a virus that threatens the lives of millions by way of the respiratory system? By the time ‘Eupnea’ was released, PRR had spent a moderate amount of time anticipating their first tour in over ten years supporting the record. But as the picture of current events became clearer and clearer, and shows kept getting pushed back further and further, the plan changed – and work on ‘Above Cirrus’ began.

For listeners who will wonder how the band found themselves going back into the creative process so quickly after the release of such a deeply personal record, it’s pertinent to explore the changes that Courtney went through in his day-to-day life in such a short period. Now experiencing fatherhood for the first time during the advent of a global pandemic, he would seek out a better environment for the safety and happiness of his home. “The family, we were in Berlin when we had the first lockdowns – and we’re in a small apartment; maybe fifty square meters. It wasn’t a great spot to be in. We found this garden out in the Brandenburg woods, and it was a place that we could go to and have some outdoor space. The city’s not a great place to be in a pandemic, so to go out with what was then a two-year-old, it was amazing to get out into the countryside and nature.”

On ‘Above Cirrus’, the band continues many of the musical through lines that fans have come to expect; maintaining a balance between somber reflection and intrepid exploration, leading listeners through a shapeshifting collection of seven tracks that evoke a range of emotions. On the songs “Our Prism” and “New Kind of Evil”, the energy reaches magnificent heights of guitar-led catharsis, rivaling the best efforts of acts like Tool and Filter, while offerings in “Lucid” and “Dead Butterfly” meld the group’s keyboard-centric song-structures with vast, epic soundscapes that will welcome audiences of acts like Muse and Porcupine Tree. But, unlike its predecessor, ‘Above Cirrus’ is far from a narrative driven concept record. As Jon confides, each song, while fueled by his personal journeys and the condition of modern times, is truly its own device. Reflecting on the lyricism of the record, he adds:

“Often my writing occupies itself with relationships; how we can be so tender/loving with each other in one instance, days later or even in a few flashes we’re tearing each other apart. The sublime & the savage/vicious. The music reflects this light & shade dynamic shift too. Our world shrinks through lockdowns/restrictions & strain is intensified. However, the end message is one of optimism – affirmation we’ll get to the end of this surreal chapter & be stronger together. Through the turbulence, we’ll help each other through the darkness.”

Another change on the new album comes in the way of the recording space. While Courtney would make use of the Berlin studio in which ‘Eupnea’ was produced on a few occasions early on, along with some of the earlier sessions taking place during a two-week stint in the UK accompanied by Chloe & Greg, he soon found a studio space that neighbored his family’s new ‘cabin-hut’ abode in Brandenburg out in the town of Frankfurt Oder, on the Polish border. As for the title of the new record, he shares how that was inspired by a conversation with guitarist Greg Jong.

“We were recording at Greg’s folks’ place. We took a break, sat outside, and we’re looking at interesting cloud formations. And, to my amazement, Greg knew the names of the types of clouds. So he’s going through them, and he gets to the one at the top, which is called ‘Cirrus’. And I ask him, ‘what’s above Cirrus?’ to which he replies ‘well, nothing’s above Cirrus.’ And so that combination of words led to the existential questions of ‘well, what’s in the beyond up there?’”

Above all else, this new chapter in the history of Pure Reason Revolution is marked by an understanding of things that requires new perspectives, whether they come from caring after and raising a child, or by enduring a world-altering pandemic that challenges the social/relationship/day-to-day norms of the past. It’s in this context that a commonality is found between Above Cirrus and Eupnea, with the band once again featuring the work of artist Jill Tegan Doherty for the album’s cover – this time in the form of her piece “Deaf Mute”. The art depicts a polar bear that’s out of its normal environment and partially covered in slow thawing ice. As Courtney confesses, it draws an interesting parallel with the state of life with the Coronavirus, and that things aren’t always as dire as they first appear.

“To me it depicts a sorrowful polar bear out of habitat, melting ice, in discomfort & pain – but adapting to change & surviving. It’s not a gruesome end for our bear, the picture for me displays hope too, perhaps just through the vibrancy & beauty in the work. That resonated with the COVID situation. This destroyed environment connects with our destroyed norms. Huge changes. Life became drastically different & we find ways to deal with it, cope and adapt. We stride into the paradox that positives & growth will come/have come out of adversity, no matter how uncomfortable.”