(from www.allmusic.com) The Autumn Defense arrived with the 21st century, capturing colors of a bygone era. The Autumn Defense is the result of a collaboration between John Stirratt, longtime member of Wilco and formerly Uncle Tupelo and musical compatriot Pat Sansone (who has worked with Joseph Arthur, Andrew Bird, Swan Dive, Josh Rouse to name a few). Between noontime highs and slipping sunsets, the Autumn Defense create a sound which both embraces and resists the moods of autumn, and so defines their name. The multi-instrumental duo chase the sun westward to the California coast, gathering inspiration from classic L.A. pop and well-crafted melody in the 60s and 70s traditions. Between gentle harmonies and instrumental texturing, the associations are tempting: a trace of the Beach Boys or a Wilson brother? The Byrds, brothers Gibb, Bread, Zombies piano pop? Stirratt himself quotes the seminal Forever Changes (Love) as one shaping influence to their sound. The Autumn Defense's first studio effort found Stirratt delivering the bulk of the writing effort, with Sansone flexing his talents in arrangement and engineering. Other contributors included former Wilco players Ken Coomer (drums) and Bob Egan (pedal and lap steel). The Green Hour was released in 2000 on Stirratt's own Broadmoor label. Always busy with other musical commitments, Sansone and Stirratt carried the Autumn Defense forward in low gear. Work began on the second album in the winter of 2002 at a friend's studio in Nashville, and after the passing of two summers and another winter, and numerous volleys between Chicago and New York, Circles was ready for release in October of 2003 on the Arena Rock label. Circles revealed a more earthy, pensive, and suitably autumnal disposition - a work of deeper beauty and maturity. It's a mellow stretch of earthy folk-pop, where horns and strings are used because they sound nice, not out of a self-appointed duty to past musical idols. Between John Stirratt's busy touring schedule with Wilco and Pat Sansone's multitude of production engagements, Circles exudes the ameliorative qualities of an escape record that was made during downtime, for downtime -- while mentally liberated from the pressures of the daily world, where the two writers could reflect upon the geyser of circles that is life. Sunny acoustics and vintage keys over lazy brushes set the character throughout Circles. "The Answer" rolls out a strata of guitars that suddenly reminds the listener of an old Gordon Lightfoot album, only to have the notion reinforced by the wave of strings and gentle background shakers that follow. "Some Kind of Fool" steals into brief moments of Pet Sound drama, with its bass-and-percussion breaks, but more often rides a '70s groove of vibes, Rhodes, and Bread-like guitar effects. Though comfortably stoic on their second album, the Autumn Defense maintain the charm of a perennial explorer, for whom Europe is still far away, and the California sun could still bring love back.

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