A Perfect Circle - Eat the Elephant

Drowned In Sound 60

Fast forward nearly a decade-and-a-half and the musical landscape has changed immensely, even if Billy Howerdel’s art metal supergroup for the most part haven’t: grinding bass and sizzling delayed guitar lines are still predominantly the name of the game on long-awaited fourth album Eat the Elephant, even if the advancing years have seen the band’s ferocity muted somewhat.

In one respect, this relative inertia is understandable - A Perfect Circle have always served up perfectly enjoyable fare, lauded above the bulk of their peers without seemingly having to break a sweat. On the other hand, there’s little here to match the high standards they set themselves in the early Noughties: nothing as rawly ferocious as turn-of-the-millennium singles ‘Judith’ and ‘Pet’, as lusciously beautiful as ‘3 Libras’, or as deliciously unhinged as their left-field take on Lennon’s ‘Imagine’ or the electro-chaingang steamroller of ‘Counting Bodies Like Sheep to the Rhythm of the War Drums’.

While not quite straying into the realms of phoning it in, Eat the Elephant is the sound of a band feeling comfortable, happy to leave the handbrake on.

Musically, Howerdel and company play it safe, sanding off the sharper edges of yesteryear’s bombast into smoother cuts - occasionally even more than might be considered reasonable: ‘So Long, and Thanks for all the Fish’ features an uplifting tom tom-heavy drive and ringing-bell guitar lines that bear a surreal resemblance to Brandon Flowers’ Killers; while the ‘Delicious’ could easily be a recent Pearl Jam track, but for the presence of frontman Maynard James Keenan’s trademark vocals.

And it’s these stunning pipes that carry Eat the Elephant - often silken, occasionally searing and ever operatic. For nearly three decades, he’s remained metal’s most compelling vocalist, with performances that can turn on a sixpence from soothing caress to gut-ripping fury. Keenan’s rich baritone remains an instrument to wallow in, the rest of the band seemingly content to bask in its reflective brilliance. Worth singling out for particular praise here are the breathy creep of ‘The Contrarian’, in which the frontman warns of populism’s dangers, incarnated in an individual with “sleight of tongue and hand” who is “as warm and calculating as heroin” (APC have long relished needling GOP incumbents of the White House, so no change here) and closer 'Get The Lead Out' – Eat The Elephant’s only truly viable contribution to a future ‘Best of’ compilation – which sees Keenan’s semi-falsetto lines floating gloriously above industrial percussion and nagging pizzicato strings.

Fourteen years on from their last outing, A Perfect Circle’s return to active duty as a living, breathing band is broadly speaking a good thing for the hard rock scene. Just don’t expect a record which silver plates their stellar reputation.

Angry Metal Guy 60

When A Perfect Circle dropped debut album Mer De Noms in 2000, the rock supergroup managed to exceed, or at least match, the lofty expectations its high-profile membership (led by Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan) garnered. The brilliant debut opus remains a staple in my listening rotation nearly 20 years later, and 2003 follow-up Thirteenth Step proved a worthy successor. Before inevitable clashes with the band member’s various main projects resulted in a 14-year recording hiatus, they dropped the ill-advised and overtly political 2004 covers album eMOTIVe. Now A Perfect Circle finally return with their highly anticipated fourth LP, Eat the Elephant. Josh Freese, Danny Lohner, Paz Lenchantin and Jeordie White are gone from the extensive list of musicians featured on eMOTIVe, leaving a line-up comprising of Keenan, bandleader Billy Howerdel, drummer Jeff Friedl, guitarist James Iha (Smashing Pumpkins) and bassist Matt McJunkins. A band returning from a lengthy hiatus is a scenario often fraught with danger, coupled with the hefty burden of anticipation. With two high-quality melancholic rock albums to their name, can A Perfect Circle recapture the glory on Eat the Elephant?

Right off the bat, Eat the Elephant marks a far more chilled and mellow addition to the A Perfect Circle repertoire, retaining the band’s emotive and moody rock template, but skewing it into more restrained, eclectic and atmospheric directions. Eat the Elephant sounds like A Perfect Circle while also marking a notable shift, not entirely surprising considering the lengthy gap between releases and the eclectic career paths of its creators. The more guitar-driven format of earlier releases is largely jettisoned in favor of a strong emphasis on piano and keyboard melodies, electronic undertones and subtly textured guitar work. Eat the Elephant’s laid-back, pop-infected approach makes for a soothing journey, punctuated by the occasional upturn in quality from the frequently solid material. Opener “Eat the Elephant” offers a chilled but richly sung introduction, reflecting the album’s mellow and often surprising twists with beautiful results and touching melodies.

Although there’s nothing on Eat the Elephant as instantly addictive as “Judith,” “Hollow,” or “Weak and Powerless,” or as hauntingly soothing and memorable as “3 Libras” and “Orestes,” there’s still plenty to like about the slow-burning and less immediate material here. The fat rhythms, tasteful orchestral embellishments and edgier Maynard vocals boost “The Doomed,” while “TalkTalk” wields silky melodies and soft-loud change-ups around a densely layered and dynamic composition, featuring an alternately gritty and melodic performance from Maynard as he takes another angry swipe at religion. Perhaps the biggest shock to the system comes via the quirky, ’80s influenced, “So Long and Thanks for All the Fish.” The song’s bright, poppy cadence rubbed me the wrong way initially, but I’ve since been swayed by its charms, particularly the epic orchestral build-ups and emotive, catchy vocal hooks. Eat the Elephant‘s back half feels a bit bloated and inconsistent, though is not without its striking moments, particularly the powerhouse, acoustic-tinged rock drive of “Delicious.”

He may come across as a pretentious douche who takes pleasure in pissing off his fans, especially the creepily obsessive factions of the Tool fan-base, but Maynard remains one of modern rock’s elite vocalists and his singing throughout Eat the Elephant is outstanding. Maynard delivers an often subdued, emotive and mature performance, showing no signs of weariness as his voice ages gracefully. My only gripe is not hearing more of his signature aggressive vocal style. Meanwhile, the poor dynamics do the album little favors, with a squashed master detracting from the depth of Howerdel’s lush arrangements. I’m also a stickler for track sequencing and aren’t too keen on how it’s handled here, with the song clusters not always proving beneficial to the flow of the album, especially the decision to open the album with three solid but dreamily downbeat and low energy cuts.

Despite its flaws, Eat the Elephant has wormed its way into my good books over repeated listens and is an album worthy of the slow-burning “grower” tag. A Perfect Circle haven’t returned with a plan to rehash past glories, instead crafting an album of rich texture and melody, subtle complexities, and less immediate but gradually revealing hooks. The low energy feel permeating the album sets it back at times, as does the bloated length, but Eat the Elephant features enough variety and impressive moments to reside on the positive end of the ledger, marking a solid return…. And a pleasant distraction from the horrendous cover art.



Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 4 | Format Reviewed: 256 kbps mp3
Label: BMG
Websites: aperfectcircle.com | facebook.com/aperfectcircle
Releases Worldwide: April 20th, 2018

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Pitchfork 49

On their first album in 14 years, art-metal giants Maynard James Keenan and Billy Howerdel swerve unexpectedly toward gloomy adult-alternative.