Circling From Above isn’t a concept album, despite initial reports of an avian theme. Styx sticks with that about as long as the Beatles did with Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Instead, this is a love letter to classic rock, as seen through the prism of Styx.
They played their role in that story, so this album fittingly includes a handful of songs that recall Styx’s career-making late-’70s records. These principally belong to stalwarts Tommy Shaw (“Michigan,” from a song idea dating back to 2011, “Only You Can Decide”), Chuck Panozzo (“Ease Your Mind,” with a turn on bass that’s somehow both airy and firm) and James “J.Y.” Young (“King of Love,” featuring both his signature baritone and a typically bonkers solo).

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