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Originally Posted by Circle Takes the Square's Press Kit
Since 2001, Savannah, GA’s Circle Takes The Square have been
turning open-minded heads with a complex sound of
chaotic and emotional hardcore. Not ‘emo’ in the weepy
post-breakup way, but through a disruptive and paranoia
-inducible delivery-
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As you can see by the recent ‘Best of 2004’ post, Circle Takes the Square has gained an enormous amount of respect in a very short amount of time. Bending from solid riffs to intertwining guitar and bass segments, Circle Takes the Square brings a monstrous sound to their music with limited resources. The long ambient sections are far less on their first release but the ideas are still there. Whether it be using harmonics to create a vivid landscape to scream over, or introducing the album with a quote; Circle Takes the Square takes time to construct every one of their songs into a vivid, luscious landscape.
Our Need to Bleed
Opening with a random produced quote about suicide, we hear the feed back resonating as the quote finishes, and then a burst of sound. From the start the vocalists are intertwining their screams and the guitars, bass, and drums are hitting hard. Around 1:05 the song starts to slow down with some melodic guitar and screaming, but it picks up in a few seconds. From there it breaks into a scream fest until around the 3-minute mark where it slows down into a great ending riff. This song feels like it is rushing by you on the first listen but as you repeat it again and again you can realize the intense importance of each segment.
3.5/5
Eleven Owls Have Eyes
Again opening hard and fast, this is another great song. At the :50 second mark we get the screaming of ‘Father, Son and Holy Ghost’ which is probably one of the most perfect moments in this song. From that testament we get some more standard grinding on guitars and bass. At 1:20 the guitars begin an upwards spiral that sets the mood for the next section of the song which is a loud, screaming section that breaks into a guitar and drum section. Drew, the male vocalist tries to out scream the drums with an intertwining of spoken vocals. After this battle of drums and vocals, a great harmonic piece is heard, and then the song goes into all out chaos with the harmonic piece in the back keeping the structure on a whim. After the chaos the harmonic piece breaks out again, bring solitude to the song, but the rest of the instruments come back in a few seconds setting up the song for a colossal ending which never comes, just the echoes of the harmonics and the finishing touches of Drew’s vocals. Harmonics conclude the song. This is probably one of the most dynamic and interesting songs on the album.
4.8/5
Disclaimer to Self
Breaking off from the intense intros, CTTS takes us into a very catchy beat from the start. After a short playing of this piece which could be used in a Brand New song, it stops for a second at :34 and then breaks into a section very similar to the ‘Father, Son and Holy Ghost’ part in Eleven Owls Have Eyes. This part is a great hard part to balance with the softness of the intro. Going all spastic with the riffs and screaming the song descends into some chaos until 1:22 when it becomes a pounding drive with the help of the bass on the drums. Descending into feedback after this section we get some small beats on the drums, and some spoken word sections from Drew. Then we break back into another catchy segment of the song, with screaming providing a great catchy ending. Probably the song, which is the most different from the rest on the album, Disclaimer to Self is a great break placed in the exact place it needs to be on this album.
4.6/5
Comes With The Fall
Going back to a hard intro, the Circle brings some great music in the first 2 minutes of this song. Some mild screaming in the background, but the intertwining guitar work is probably the most amazing here. After it hits the 2-minute mark, we get some great drum work and then the Circle spazs out into some more hard music just like in the intro. Around the 3-minute mark the vocals finally come in. This is the track when the screaming is probably at their peak, they blending in perfectly with the insanity of the music and the lyrics of ‘Feeding on the sunrise. Picking my veins like a murderess murderous warmth take hold of me ‘ are some of the most brilliant on the album. After a large screaming section, the song breaks down into some ambient melodic guitar pieces, which really slow the mood of the song but also leave you wanting to hear what happens next. What comes next is well worth the wait; some great high end guitar playing brings the song into an epic ending. The song is still being tampered with before it finals breaks into the final track of the album with some great guitar work.
5/5
Houdini Logic
This song can be most compared to A Crater to Cough In from ‘As the Roots Undo’ since it has the same type of epic build up in the first minute and a half of the song. Some great drumming, bass and guitar softly bring this song to epic proportions and when it finally sets off at 1:40, you are just overwhelmed with it. This is the peak of the album and you can just imagine the intensity of this song in concert. After presenting us with a great section, CTTS drops into a scream feast that brings the emotion to the very top of the song. Some voice box work is spread out throughout this section. Houdini Logic is truly the most amazing album on this great EP and in my opinion their second best song.
5/5
In the Neverous Light of Sunday
This track is on As the Roots Undo, decent track but Houdini logic would've made a far better ending. I'm not going to review this since Dfelon already did.
4.2/5
This is a great album that clocks in at around 20 minutes which is a good length for an EP. The intensity and emotion put into these songs gives it an edge over most bands in the screamo category and it really helps define Circle Takes the Square as a band. Along with this emotion comes a great technique for making the songs complex in there working but simple in their hearing. While they may not seem like a very technical band in comparison to bands such as The Dillinger Escape Plan and Dream Theater every aspect of a Circle Takes the Square song is there for a reason and creates a one of a kind experience, I recommend this CD to everyone.
4.8/5
