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BIO | PRESS | REVIEWS | INTERVIEWS
AS THE ROOTS UNDO CD/LP, 2004
Okay, so Circle Takes The Square may not be the best band name. In fact, it's pretty dumb. It also gives no clue as to what an intense and amazing record As The Roots Undo is. But as with monikers like the "Flaming Lips", or even the "Beatles", the name will grow on you, which is good, because you're gonna be telling everyone you know about this record. Trust us! From the cover, a gorgeous gold and silver metallic digipak that folds together IPR style, to the music, a bizarre hybrid of old school crusty hardcore complete with shouted boy/girl vocals, modern metalcore, indie/post rock, seriously complex and innovative prog, and even some weird ambient electronic bits, you won't know what hit you. Sounds like it could be a mess, but somehow it all falls together perfectly. Emotional and intense, alternately heavy and intense, melodic and melancholy. Massive Neurosis-style riffery gives way to weird clean guitar breakdowns, spoken word parts and blooping electronic programming. Buzzing grindcore splinters into jangly, rhythmic almost-pop. Definitely schizophrenic. But in a good way. The core of the record is a thrashy, complex grind metal, but the vocals are so distinctive and emotional and the arrangements are so creative that it turns what could have been a run of the mill punk rock record into one of our favorite new records, period. Aquarius Records It seems that the emo genre has become complacent in the past few years, inundating the scene with a steady tide of indistinguishable ensembles that generally lack the energy to even try and sound different from their peers. Savannah, Georgia's own Circle Takes The Square have proven to be the oddity amongst all of these tears and jaded emotions, as their screamo aesthetic reaches far beyond the expected hardcore/emo boundaries and has captured a vibrant dose of artistic credibility necessary to survive. Though they have birthed a handful of well-received but criminally unavailable releases (most notably a split 7" with fellow screamo group pg.99), nothing has quite punctuated the group's kinetic energy like their adventurous debut full-length, "As The Roots Undo". Circle Takes The Square have the ability to erase one's preconceptions towards modern day screamo, as their elaborate song structures and dynamic male/female vocal blending challenge the formula, leaving little room for shoe-gazing. Supplying the listener with atmospheric ambiance in the vein of Mogwai along with raging doses of violently spastic hardcore, the group weave a web of disenchanted dreams and all too realistic nightmares. The hunger within these musicians is exposed for all to witness as they repeatedly pummel one's ears with bitterly acerbic blasts of rabid grindcore intensity, and yet these vicious slabs of barbarism fall away to panoramic soundscapes of haunting beauty. This perilous flirtation between the fragile and the chaotic is startling in its urgency, and cathartic in its intimacy. As it stands the group carry a stigma that seems to cut the scene in half, with the scale balanced between fanatical fervor for the band's artistic vision and staunch vehemence towards the mangled explosions of sound assaulting their ears. The schizophrenic design that "As The Roots Undo" has adopted does indeed feel scattered at times, and this hectic mish-mash of ideas may be just too edgy and open-ended for all listeners to embrace. But with their unpredictable inventiveness and a flair for aural debauchery Circle Takes The Square are surely a beacon of light on a choppy sea of mediocrity, proving that there is still potential for invigorating, original acts from the emo community. It is only up to the intrepid listeners now to steer their ship in the right direction. Rating: 4.5 / 5 Jason Doe / theprp.com Even if the actual music on the new CIRCLE TAKES THE SQUARE album was absolutely horrid, I think I would have to hang the digi-pack on my wall as if it were the Mona Lisa or some other work of art. Seriously, the quad-fold digi-pack is so slick I'm afraid I might drool on it just looking at the esoteric illustrations scattered inside. On top of that there is a nice lyric booklet stapled in to follow along with. With that out of the way, this is something beyond out of the ordinary. After a few releases from Robo Empire that are merely pretty good, I would attest that CIRCLE TAKES THE SQUARE is the labels claim to fame, and rightly so. Normally, to pull off a chaotic style you can't just play your hearts out. There has to be some sort of grip to the songs. The band has definitely recognized this and it's evident in their cryptic songs. "As the Roots Undo," is running on all engines from beginning to end. Some may compare the band to THE LOCUST, and while I think that band accomplishes what they set out to do, CIRCLE TAKES THE SQUARE take the next step in technical, loud, frenzied music. The band always seems to know exactly where they want to go with the song and anticipate the listener's attention span for each successive song they write. It's obvious in the arrangement and structuring of the songs that they know how to craft a tune that emphasizes clarity over unbridled chaos. Within each tune, the band is pretty devious in how they allow the song to breathe and swell from low-key atmospherics to full on screeches and squeals. The one thing that remains consistent with each song is control. Be it the tempo or even the rhythmic vocals, I'm floored with how maniacal this disc sounds without losing my interest for a moment. The fact that the songs are actually memorable is not something easily achieved in this genre. The dual male/female vocals are an immediate distinction that the listener can make which sets them apart from any contemporaries they might have. Opening the disc is an immediate kick in the teeth by the name of "Same Shade of Concrete." The clean break during this song is an interesting medium that makes the incredibly unrefined vocals seem even rawer. My favorite song, "Non-Objective Portrait of Karma," seems like a great song to play if you want to put everyone to sleep with a 3 and half minute electronic intro and like having your hair suddenly ripped from it's roots with the incredible transition to the remaining 3 minutes of the song. Not surprisingly I found some bizarre lyrical quirks in the liner notes such as "Concrete replaces each branch and twig as they were prayed upon the birth of ambition." While I really have no clue what that's supposed to mean, I feel like I do because the music is such an anomaly that it fits in. This folks, is how chaotic music is supposed to be played. CIRCLE TAKES THE SQUARE have rocked my socks off with something completely different and volatile. If this band can't turn your head then you probably just don't "get it." As pretentious as that may sound, this band is the farthest thing from ordinary and is definitely not what any of us were expecting. Adam Barone / Euphonic The band´s name reminded me first of a terrible band name Square The Circle, but luckily CTTS have nothing in common with them. Hailing from Savannah, which brought us some other great bands, CTTS are out to contribute their interpretation of HC in 2004 to the many different forms, which are still out there. By writing this, I indirectly implicate that CTTS are doing something different and original and… this is true. Ok, it´s hard to give new impulses to any musical genre today, but CTTS are able to reshape the old and give birth to a new bastard. Complex and packed with ideas, the eight songs are definitely not music to relax to, but if you take your time, they´ll surely grow on you. Emotional and chaotic, driven by great vocal performance. I think they would blow me away live… until then I have to stick to this CD. Great! www.enoughfanzine.com Usually I find it pretty hard to listen to bands playing a complex blend of chaotic and emotional Hardcore, but bands who come up with such an amazing and impressive layout really deserve to get a closer examination. The packaging is far away from the average, more in the vein of a fold out digi pack. I always wonder how small labels like Robotic Empire can come up with such a great packaging while many major label releases are just boring when it comes to the layout. Anyway, let's got to the music which is, as I said, complex, intense and emotional Hardcore with all three band members adding vocals, which means you can hear one female and two male voices on "As the roots undo", the first full length of CIRCLE TAKES THE SQUARE. "Straighter" parts are repeatedly turning into eruptive, blasting and complex parts. You know, not the stuff that I put on daily, but I can say that it's damn good musicianship you can find here and I could imagine that their even more intense on stage. Fans of this variation of Hardcore (Botch, Converge, Children of Fall etc.) can add another fine group to their list of favourite bands, I'm sure they will like CIRCLE TAKES THE SQUARE. Stefan / www.voiceofreason.de Oh man, the packaging alone makes me psyched about this cd. It’s an AMAZING looking digipack that is folded somewhat like an envelope. Beautifully done. But the packaging is unimportant if the music sucks isn’t it? Well, don’t worry about that! Jeez… This must be one of the best cd’s I’ve heard in a long long time. I think the last time I was this amazed by a cd, it was by City Of Caterpillar’s self titled. Circle Takes The Square is not all that much unlike them. They’ve been around for a couple of years now, and this is their first full length. They bring a diverse sound stretching from quiet beautiful guitar to chaotic passionate hardcore supported by both male and female screams, whispers and chants. The lyrics are somewhat poetic, which makes it hard for me to completely understand them, but it’s clear to me this is an intelligent band. As they say themselves in their short explanation of the lyrics they’re about documenting “the different points on a path to self-realization”. I hope this cd will be available a lot better than Circle Takes The Square’s previous work, which includes a split 7 inch with the now defunct Pageninetynine. That one’s worth picking up if you ever come by it as well (awesome packaging on that too). If you’re in any way interested in this kind of music, go pick this up. And if you’re not, go pick it up nonetheless! This band needs to use the bucks to tour Europe if you ask me! Circle Takes The Square deserves worldwide appreciation. Jochem Kühnen / www.insideknowledge.net Being interesting is a good thing. Having an idea and going with it so far that you’ve created a sort of mini-empire, a concept which defines and shapes everything you do is far more imaginative than 99% of ‘artists’ out there. For this, Circle Takes The Square have to be admired and appreciated. There is something absolutely epic and spectacular about them, with a compelling, almost circus-like extravagance to their unique brand of dark metal infused- screamo. And yes, loads of ‘scene’ kids love them right now. So shall we carry on? What is most striking about CTTS's discordant style is the fact that they are instantaneously throwing themselves from one corner of the progressive screamo/hardcore genre to the other end entirely, and within a matter of seconds their sound covers a rather epic scale of ground. Within the first 2 minutes of the first proper song, 'Same shade as concrete', their style has changed so intensely and dramatically you barely remember how the song started. From gothic tinged metalcore to straight up pounding brutality to (both bizarrely and fittingly) a trip-hop moment, it has to be lauded. But it is dramatic in every sense, from the dual female/male vocalists over-emphasised (and at times sounding comical) theatrical screams and melodramatic lyrics to the musical prowess which is just so varied and somewhat brilliant you are almost left speechless. Complaints of the irritating male vocalist can be felt at the start of track 3, 'Crowquill', as it verges too far on Dani Filth at times, and overpowers the sheer musicianship happening in the 'background'. This is probably what is easiest to criticise about CTTS, and perhaps may become a problem, when the singer's voice becomes so annoying after a while you can't bear to listen to it and so forget just how good an album it is. Even worse, to forget the mastery they've gained and created with this and the fact that there's only three of them in the band. It is quite a compelling, intense listen on the first few goes, especially since most of the songs are over five minutes long. Having heard 'Non objective portrait of karma' a fair few times and now finding myself tired of that song, this could be the fate of the whole album. It's hardly timeless, just at this very moment in time something rather great. From the opening classic metal riffs of 'Interview at the ruins' to the fact the album feels like its telling some kind of Victorian gothic story which could soundtrack a mist-ridden Tim Burton movie, it just covers some pretty damn amazing ground. Whether it will last after the tenth listen (or until their next release) remains to be seen, but very few people are doing stuff like this at the moment. I feel now I should say something like 'HAIL!' or equally cheesy. Well, 'HAIL!' indeed. www.thecommunion.co.uk With so many different tangents already existing in the punk/hardcore domain, it's impossible to think there may be room for another. Coming across like the bastard indie offspring of Every Time I Die in their erratic time signatures, and sidling up nicely to UK Spoke-core-ists The Murder Of Rosa Luxemburg; Savannah, GA trip Circle Takes The Square are carving out their own quarters. More uncomfortable than wearing a hair shirt or bedding down on a slab of nails, the scouring guy and gal vocals are scratchier than the glass shards swept away on 'Interview At The Ruins'. And what an epic it proves to be, combining bold, striding riffs and feral bass lines with an almost folky, witchy chant to end. There's the haunting 'Non-Objective Portrait Of Karma' and the edgy burst of adrenalin-fuelled 'Kill The Switch' with guitars on frenzy-overdrive. A fully rounded effort. Ronnie Kerswell / Rock Sound From first listen of the new Circle Takes The Square full length, "As The Roots Undo" I vision a peaceful village in the 1600's suddenly corrupted by the spread of a horrific killing disease. This album is absolutely brilliant. Shreeking screams harmonizing together as if eyes were being torn from their sockets, unthinkable transitions, heartbeat-like drums that suddenly start to convulse from a nightmare of consistant double bass and fast tom fills to a vision of artistic genius produced by Circle Takes The Square. Track five is my favorite song, with it's chanting build-up, speaking the words, "a mur mur from the ruins that go softly as the roots undo, and the branch becomes...". Pick up this album from Robotic Empire (Daughters!, A Life Once Lost), one of our favorite record labels, at www.roboticempire.com. Josh Bakaitus / Bridgeport Entertainment Consisting of three members hailing from Georgia, Circle Takes the Square have created a sound like no other. A bit of grind, a bit of screamo with the emotional and artisitic feel of Plot to Blow Up the Eiffel Tower or a extremely psychotic, non-electronica Le Tigre. Blast beats, dueling vocals (female and male), and awe-inspiring melodies make As the Roots Undo a solid release. There is truely a loss for words when listen to the music of CTTS. One hyphenated word for you, mind-blowing! Marcus & James / northeasthardcore.com Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4