A Perfect Circle ‘Eat The Elephant’ Review: APC defy expectations with understated, reflective comeback album.
[rating=4]
The last time A Perfect Circle released an album, it was 2004’s Emotive, a political protest album (featuring unorthodox cover songs), railing against an unpopular republican president and a divided electorate.
The group return 14 years later with Eat The Elephant (out April 20th on BMG), which sees America under another unpopular republican president and an even more polarized populace. 2018 makes the Bush-era feel downright quaint, so what better time for them to resurface?
APC songsmith mastermind Billy Howerdel eschews covers this time around, making Elephant the first album of original material from the band since 2003’s 13th Step.
After such a long time apart, one wondered what the rekindled alchemy between Howerdel and frontman Maynard James Keenan would sound like. But for anyone expecting Mer De Noms 2, check your expectations at the door.
Eat The Elephant sees Howerdel embracing his goth and new wave influences more than ever before, which dovetails nicely with Keenan’s 80s-tinged work with his Puscifer project.
The album begins with the title track, a down tempo, piano led ballad that sets the tone for all that follows–dark, understated, and delicate, with Keenan’s voice evoking a new, cleaner approach that stands out starkly from his familiar throat-shredding theatrics.
Single Disillusioned is a swirling, hypnotic track, with Keenan offering lyrics that reflect how social media encourages isolation over connection: Dis- and re-connect to the resonance now/You were never an island/Unique voice among the many in this choir.
The Contrarian appears more political in nature with lyrics that seem to hint at a certain authoritarian leader, with lines like beware he lies…this magician, sleight of tongue and hand….
So Long, And Thanks for All The Fish is the biggest eye (or ear) opener on the album. It’s poppy, with the type of angular, euphoric uplift akin to vintage U2, with Keenan name-checking a host of departed pop-culture luminaries, including Gene Wilder, David Bowie and Carrie Fisher. It’s deeply infectious and wins you over quickly, even if it’s quite jarring compared to the rest of their album (and the group’s core sound).
Howerdel’s love for synth pop and post-punk is heard throughout, with Depeche Mode’s DNA in full effect on the slinky instrumental DLB, trancey closer Get The Led Out, and the hypnotic Hourglass, which sees Maynard’s vocoder drenched pipes wail against political gridlock.
Likewise Feathers and By and Down The River have the dismal grandeur of The Cure, with Keenan using his vocals to soaring effect, and Howerdel laying down siren-call guitar solos.
For APC fans longing for a rocker in the same vein as Judith, there may be initial disappointment, even if songs like The Doomed, Delicious and Talk Talk are punctuated by metal riffage and Keenan’s classic fanged delivery. But these are accents that compliment more delicate and layered passages.
But what Eat The Elephant lacks in angry anthems, it more than makes up for in melodic hooks and emotion. For the open-minded listener, there is much to savor, and it grows on you rapidly upon repeat listens.
Much like the album title, Eat The Elephant is a lot to absorb and takes time to digest, but is ultimately a very satisfying, long-awaited feast.
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