A Perfect Circle formed as the conjoining of Maynard James Keenan of Tool, and virtuoso musician/composer Billy Howerdel. However, with other projects, bouts of inactivity and a long hiatus since their last studio album, does this influential band still demand attention?
The album opens with its title track – “Eat The Elephant”. It’s slow, moody and atmospheric with soft and expertly intricate drums underlining a simple piano line as Keenan’s vocals lead the track.
The soft and gentle tone continues into the second track, “Disillusioned”. The pace of the track is just as slow as the opening number, but with (literal) neck hair raising keyboard tones and guitar wails and vocals, it’s a different beast to “Eat The Elephant”. Lyrically, it is as razor-sharp as you’d expect from Maynard James Keenan. Targeting smart phone usage with lyrics such as ‘time to put the silicon obsession down / take a look around – find a way in the silence‘.
With the addition of guitars and a more urgent drum beat in the background, the album feels like a juggernaut, gradually building speed as it picks up momentum from its long hiatus and absence from the studio.
Only on their fourth studio album since forming in 1999, the band are not the most prolific of artists. This is no bad thing however. Maynard James Keenan was quoted by the New York Times as saying:
The [A Perfect Circle] music was very different, so I responded differently. The process that we go through in recording with Tool is very organic, but at the same time it is very thought out. There is a very left-brain process of dissecting what we’re doing and drawing from source material; it’s very research oriented and esoteric. With A Perfect Circle the process is far more mechanical and computer oriented, but at the same time it is also far more emotional and intuitive. Tool is more a left-brain masculine result, and [A Perfect Circle] is more a right-brain feminine result.
From the aforementioned technology-focused lyrics of “Disillusioned” through to the poetic, flowing gapless link of “The Contrarian” and “The Doomed”, this approach is abundantly clear. Having a supergroup capable of standing totally unique amongst its founding artists is no small thing (even if this has made me even more thankful for Tool’s longstanding lawsuit to be finally be closing).
As “The Doomed” closes, we’re given a teasing end to the song as the guitars and drums reach a climactic point of speed and drive and Keenan’s vocals finally hit shouting level before rapidly dropping off into Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy inspired (at least for the title) – “So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish”.
As much as the track could be seen as jarring due to the sudden change in pace, it’s been done at such a perfect moment so as to not technically break pace with the album thus far and as the pomp of the orchestral drums, brass and strings start to break away – from behind their veil comes discretely distorted bass and guitars. This same sense of drama, albeit without most of the additional instruments and the use of acoustic chords over screaming electric guitar comes “Delicious”, later in the album.
Leading in with angrier vocals and intelligently honed lyrics aimed at world politics (well, that’s my take on it) comes “TalkTalk”, amidst the dark and thundering melody lyrics take aim and the usage of ‘thoughts and prayers’ in a crisis and the self-importance of current leaders. Much like the attachment of “The Contrarian” and “The Doomed” – we see the same gapless link used between “DLB” and “Hourglass”. The two sets of songs would struggle to be further removed however. The latter two have used gratuitous autotune on the backing vocals to add robotic notes underneath Keenan’s distinctive vocals. With the addition of growling distortion to the guitar and bass, it makes for an excellent duo.
As the album reaches its conclusion with “Feathers”, the true high point that the album has been building to, and “Get The Lead Out”. The former is the hard rock conclusion to the album that throws back to the band’s stellar first album, Mer De Noms, and the final track is the perfect end to what very well may be a perfect album.
Ultimately, every track on the album has been engineered, placed and performed nigh on perfectly. With Keenan and Howerdel at the helm this isn’t surprising, but the band have managed to retain everything that made them great before their hiatus whilst gaining more experience and staying relevant.
The album demands listening to, and if you want to find a system that can get the best of this masterpiece, come down to your nearest Richer Sounds to help find the best equipment.
Author: Steve, Chiswick store
