Circle Takes The Square

As The Roots Undo (2004)

colin smith

Circle Takes The Square is better than you. Seriously.

An introduction of haunting whistles in "The Same Shade as Concrete" is chaotically destroyed when the screams of "Rejoice, rejoice, a noble birth, a prince is born!" enter with chaotic drumming, amazing guitar work and dual male/female screaming vocals go to work. At first I would consider this band hardcore, but to limit them to such a genre is unfair. Throughout every song there are numerous shifts in tone, beat, and influence.

The album continues with older songs "Crowquill" and "In The Nervous Light of Sunday", both amazing anthems, with "Nervous…" having multiple parts where you just can't stop yourself from screaming along to the incredibly written lyrics.

"Interview At The Ruins" shows a different side of the band, keeping the song slow and intense, with much shorter lyrics, but just as powerful as every other song on the album. Repeating guitars and double-bass buildups leave you wanting to keep every song on repeat, if it weren't for the fact the next song will be just as good.

"Non Objective Point Of Karma" begins with a few minutes of repetition and buildup, ending in a slaughter of screaming guitars and voices. The duality of the male/female screaming comes into play a lot throughout the album, and the vocals are done in a superb manner.

"Kill The Switch" has to be my favorite song on the album, a 9:35 non-stop anthem, with the intensity of the bass-kicking and the lyrics "Life is lowly / lowly anonymity. I know it's all been done before / I want to do it again…" building up to great guitar breakdowns and finally the anthemic "As in sorrow / so shall ye weep / as in reason / so shall ye sleep" ending the song with fists pumping in the air.

"A Crater to Cough In" rounds out the effort very nicely, with a sensibility reminiscent of "Karma," but less electronic influence in the intro.

I could go on and on about how genious this album is, but all I can do is recommend finding some MP3's (I believe Robotic Empire's site has one up) and checking them out for yourself. After seeing them in house shows and small clubs, I really hope this album becomes the explosive hit of the punk community in 2004, because it has all the potential for that job. Lyrically and musically amazing and crafted masterfully, Circle Takes The Square will be your new favorite band.