A Perfect Circle
Mer De Noms (Virgin)
by Scott Hefflon
By now, hopefully it’s pretty obvious that A Perfect Circle is a great modern rock band. If the name doesn’t at least make ya ask, “That’s the supergroup with the guy from Tool singin’, right?,” well, it seems the rock you live beneath is bigger than the rock of ages… A Perfect Circle is the musical and philosophical union of a group of well-established, very talented musicians, all doing what they do best and pushing themselves to do better. While anyone familiar with Tool will pick up on Maynard’s soulful, moody vocals, there’s a rich, flowing vibe, and some musiciany technical differences that let ya know this ain’t a Tool record. Not that there’s anything wrong with a Tool record…
On the whole, these 45 minutes are colorful and active (more swaying/grooving than fist-banging), a great record to play from end to end while hanging out. It won’t make you drive too fast or contemplate slitting your wrists because it hangs with you, without pushing you to extremes. It’s a thoughtful, moving record that might become dull for the easily-distracted, but most things really worth getting aren’t just handed to you.
www.aperfectcircle.com