Album Review: A Perfect Circle - Eat The Elephant

A Perfect Circle's recent strict enforcement of a "no photos and videos" policy at shows spawned headlines and infuriated many. However, it did ultimately control their message; ensuring absent fans' initial encounter with their long-awaited new material was via the format the alt-rockers intended and not a low-quality phone recording.

The three songs issued prior to the LP's release - Disillusioned's melancholy piano melody, The Doomed's hefty guitars and melodic-but-desolate hooks, and vocalist Maynard James Keenan's vicious indictment of modern Christianity on TalkTalk - offered a fair indication of the scope of Eat The Elephant. However, after 14 years between drinks, hearing these songs in the context of the entire record feels more appropriate. This is especially the case given that much of it is a moody, slow-burning affair, even for a band whose previous affairs haven't exactly screamed party material. Fans should find plenty, both familiar and new, to resonate with. Note the off-kilter, yet oddly appealing, pop of So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish (which references several celebrity deaths), Hourglass' weighty electronics and Delicious' nods to their classic debut.

Someone should have reconsidered the awful cover art, but the songwriting nucleus of Keenan and guitarist Billy Howerdel evidently had a clear vision when they walked through the studio doors. They've largely succeeded and those who've waited a decade-and-a-half for Eat The Elephant should feel right at home.