A Perfect Circle - Thirteenth Step
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Free Music Notes for Thirteenth Step
Free Music Review: 13th Step Dawns On New Horizon
Hit: 5 Stars
It is now 12pm 9/16, and I have now owned the new APC album for 3 hours. As I put it in my car stereo, I was in awe as the first track was unopened before me. The Package is an amazing amazing song. It clocks in at 7 minutes and 40 seconds. It begins as an odd percussion rythm that drives the song with subtle guitar coloring the background while Maynard smoothly sings chopping the melody with the tap of the drums. Maynard actually uses his falsetto for to mould a memorable chorus into your ears. The bass is strong throughout the whole album and the lyrics are better than imagined. weak and powerless we all know, nuff said. The noose is a tingling track that is so quite and beautiful. Maynard's lyrics in the chorus melody hint to his chorus performance on the Deftones passenger. At the end it all weaves together in Mer de Noms Thomas like fashion. The next song, Blue, is more upbeat and incredible with a playful joke by maynard hinting at Aenima by opening with "i just didn't want to know, best to keep things in the shallow end because I never quite learned how to swim." This song could be a single easily i think down the road. The voice over dubs pull you into this song with ease. Next is Vanishing, which may be this albums type of Brena song, concluding like an escaping breath and pounding rythms that recall Thinking of You. A Stranger is like Renholder with words. Very lovely and mellow and mjk's are amazing, really. The Outsider is for sure a future single due to its chugging guitar and aggressive vocals similar to maynard's tool styles. This song is a kind of Judith but more intricate and crisp musically, and has very dark and flowing bridges between parts. I can't describe this song well enough just find away to hear it. Crimes and the Nurse Who Loved Me are tracks that may make most peoples eye brows raise for sake of displacement on the album. the peacefulness is shattered by Pet which slams you with distortion and then cuts away and grows into the chorus. the first line is "don't fret precious I'm here, step away from the window". Mr. Keenan drives this song with forward motion. Lullaby is like Crimes of the Nurse, so we'll jump to the last track which is Gravity. Gravity was written by the old formation of APC, with Paz and Troy. This song is crucial for the end of the album. It sounds much like Mer De Noms manipulated to relax at the foot of this album. The last line is "I Choose to Live" which echoes as would a voice in a memory carrying you out of the album, or rather the experience. This music is differnt from anything they've done, definately a development or growth on their part. Billy is genious for putting this stuff together while maynard was on tour with tool, and they hit the nail on the head. Its is a much needed arrival and opens the mind for hope of what music can do. and oh, by the way, there are only 12 songs on the album, the 13th step is what you make of it. Take the energy you get from this album and do something positive with it, Art Saves Lives. Maynard said that.Free Music Review: No, it's not Tool, and that's fine with me...
Hit: 5 Stars
Ok, many of us dedicated Tool fans were fairly (but not overly) impressed with the first APC release, "Mer de Noms". It was marketed as a Tool "side project" and hyped to no end, but for the most part, it never even approached that status. It had several good tracks and one nice video for "Judith" directed by David Fincher, but I must admit - after many listenings, I got bored and it never survived for long my "A" pile. Then, on almost a whim, I bought "13th Step". Wow. This one now sits within the first 5 discs in that "A" pile. Intelligent, well produced and successful as both foreground and background music. Sure, there's a lot of Maynard's influence in several of these songs (let's face it, he runs the show no matter who he's working with), but adding ex-Pumpkin James Iha and ex-Mansonite Jeordie White has given birth to something that is a oddly more Tool-like than APC's first effort while remaining unique to the combined efforts of the individual musicians. Throw NIN's Danny Lohner into the mix for some production work and ka-boom, you've got yourself a killer CD which is [imho] better than the most recent material any of the band members have done outside of APC.
Let's be honest, [Tool's] "Lateralus" was good, but it's no "Undertow" (I'm pretty sure there will never be another experience like that anytime soon). We won't even talk about Aenema... But this effort respects Maynard's unique writing/singing style. Even when the guitars kick in, he simply becomes part of the orchestration rather than trying to sing over it which he tends to do with Tool. In fact, APC seems to have offered him (as well as the rest of the band) an avenue for growth and experimentation that their former/other gigs simply can't.
This is undeniably a great set of songs. Yeah, they're getting the usual annoying commercial radio play, but that's not my problem and I don't really care. "Weak and Powerless", "The Outsider" and "Pet" are great tunes. The more you listen to them, the more delicate they become despite their hard-hitting momentum. They create the same high peak that "The Hollow" and "Judith" did on the last CD. The difference is that these (and the rest of the tracks on "13th Step") are tighter, better thought out, less commercial and more poetic. APC also gets high marks from me for covering Failure's "The Nurse Who Loved Me" (one of the most unrecognized and underappreciated indie/alternative rock bands).
The bottom line? Just go get it and give it a spin. If you can't catch every word Maynard is singing, go to the website for the lyrics. If you feel slightly disappointed, give it another listen without preconceptions based on previous Tool material or "Mer de Noms". Also, take the time to pump this CD through a good pair of headphones. It has the same sensual attention to detail that NIN's "Fragile" does which is not always apparent through the air between you and your speakers.
Free Music Review: Different from Mer de Noms, but still a great album
Hit: 5 Stars
As it has been said in previous reviews, do not buy this album if you are expecting another Mer de Noms. The music, sounds, and writing voice on this album differ from Mer de Noms greatly, which will leave most people who are seeking a repeat of the first album disappointed. Perhaps this change is due to the absence of Paz? Perhaps not. I think A Perfect Circle will be one of those bands that is forever changing and testing new horizons of music. This album is merely a reflection of that.While Thirteenth Step sounds little like their first success, it is quite good in its own right. I personally think it blows Mer de Noms away. Maynard (the singer) is there in typical Maynard fashion, but he also challenges himself. I hear him doing things on this album I've rarely heard from him before (ex: where did he get that incredible vocal range?). Where Mer de Noms had almost an oriental feel, this album flows in a very surreal manner. The song "Pet" talks about "the boogymen are coming" and "Lullaby" is just that, beginning with the words "go back to sleep."
"Gravity" is perhaps the closest song on here that is true to Mer de Noms fashion. There are two tracks here that are pseudo-songs, and by that I mean they are not what traditionally gets air play and have little vocals: "Crimes" and the aforementioned "Lullaby." I have heard several fans of Failure complain about the cover of "The Nurse Who Loved Me." Not having heard the original, I cannot cast a vote either way. I can say, though, that I enjoy listening to this track. It sounds drastically different from anything else on this album, but it is almost like a welcome distraction.
I must disagree with the reviewer who said it sounds like Tool's album Lateralus. I believe Maynard adamantly tries to keep Tool's sound different from A Perfect Circle's sound. There wouldn't be much sense in marketing the same style under two different band names. Naturally, since both bands share the same singer/songwriter, there will be some similarities, but there are not enough here to say Thirteenth Step sounds like Lateralus. I got bored with Lateralus after a couple of listens. If you've heard one track on there, you've heard nearly all of them. There is very little variation between songs. Thirteenth Step, however, has a great deal of variation in its music. I've had the album on repeat since buying it the afternoon it came out, and I have yet to tire of it.
Individual breakdown of the track listing:
1) The Package: *** (three stars out of five)
2) Weak and Powerless: *****
3) The Noose: *****
4) Blue: ***** (though it took awhile to grow on me)
5) Vanishing: ****
6) A Stranger: ****
7) The Outsider: ****
8) Crimes: ** (perhaps the worst song on here, in my opinion)
9) The Nurse Who Loved Me: ***
10) Pet: ***** (tied for best with "Gravity")
11) Lullaby: ***
12) Gravity: *****
Free Music Review: A Perfect Circle does it again
Hit: 5 Stars
A Perfect Circle reemerges this year to bring us their sophomore set. Ever since May of 2001, I have waited patiently for the follow up to 2000's amazing album Mer de Noms. I've downloaded as much APC as possible from the web. None of it was doing me any good. The chance even came up to download the entire second album prior to the release on September 16th. I chose to tough it out and wait for The Thirteenth Step. Well the waiting is over. The album opens up with "The Package," a near eight minute opener that begins with simple, acoustic like flow. Maynard James Keenan (the leader singer) begins to sing with his beautiful voice, and welcomes us back to the Thirteenth Step. A little after the four minute mark, hard guitars come blasting in between a haunting whisper from Maynard saying "take what's mine." A true eye opener to the CD. Mer de Noms was known for short songs, but "The Package" rounds out at 7:40, a rather long song to begin the CD out. However, APC does not lose the listener at all. With the first few notes of "The Package" I was drawn in and have not stopped listening to the CD.
The first single is "Weak and Powerless." When I first heard the song on the radio in late July, I noticed how different it seemed from the first APC album. The most notable thing about this song are the lyrics. The lyrics are very dynamic and deep. I enjoy listening to the song. A wise choice for first single. "The Noose" comes next. I think this is one of the top songs on the album. "With your halo, slipping down your neck to choke you." - very intense lyrics. One undeniable factor of Maynard is his vocals. Very soft for this song, something many stereotypical listeners might not know about. "Blue" keeps the rhythm flowing. "Vanishing" uses a new technique for APC. Fading in and out with vocals is very nicely done on this track.
"A Stranger," "Outsider," and "Crimes" all come in as being strong candidates for second single off the record. "The Nurse Who Loved Me" is actually a cover of the song originally performed by Failure. A very nice addition to the CD. "Pet" provides the only offensive lyrics for the entire disc. (sorry APC fans, no equivalent of "Judith" this time) The band raps it all up with "Lullaby" and "Gravity."
I strongly recommend this album to anyone. It definitely has a lot of potential. The real question is if its better than Mer de Noms. And I'll go out on a limb as saying that it is it much better than their first CD. A lot of heart was put into it this time. Not to say their previous record had no effort, it did. But I can't decide which one is better. In some aspects both are amazing. Very few flaws here, but a new style is hard to adjust to. I recommend this album to everyone. It may just be the CD you're looking for. Take the Thirteenth Step, its well worth it.
Also recommended: Tool: Aenima and Lateralus.
Free Music Review: Another haunting, beautiful winner from APC.
Hit: 5 Stars
For 2003's "Thirteen Step", A Perfect Circle turned down the heavy, powerful guitars that dominated songs from their debut album such as "Judith" and "The Hollow". This time, they sound more like The Cure, and less like Tool. But don't think "Friday I'm In Love" or "Just Like Heaven" (although that would be interesting to hear)..try "Pornography" and "Disintegration" era Cure. Dark, ethereal, atmospheric, chilling, etc. There are a couple heavy moments, but most of "Thirteenth Step" is a subdued affair that may alienate some fans.
"The Package" is an epic opener that works the soft/loud dynamic perfectly in its 8 minute course, going from brooding to intense, and back again. The first single, "Weak and Powerless" churns along at an urgent pace, a deceptively catchy, extremely moody song that got more airplay than I expected.
"The Noose" is worth the price of the album alone; gorgeous and powerful, which is also an accurate description of this album as whole. Another favorite of mine is the gripping, reflective closer "Gravity", which finds light at the end of a dark tunnel with the lyrics, "I choose to live" (many people think of this album as a conceptual look through the eyes of a drug addict, and nearly all the songs make sense in that context if you listen closely). The layered guitar work and intricate 7/4 rhythm highlight this grand finale.
Fans who long for the heavier APC of "Judith" will eat up "The Outsider", an angry rant about melodrama that has an absolutely killer hook (which helped make it a popular radio single). "Pet" is another hard rocker, with lots of political references (speaking of which, APC are allegedly releasing an album of political songs this November, but I think they're just yanking our chains, which Maynard has been known to do).
The biggest surprise on the album is the band's cover of Failure's "The Nurse Who Loved Me". Whereas the original was more or less a straightforward alt rock song, APC gives it a makeover with a bizarre orchestral arrangement. Graceful, theatrical, and probably a *tad* bit sarcastic, but nonetheless, it explores new ground for the band.
Other standouts include the atmospheric "Vanishing", and "A Stranger", an accoustic ballad with sublime vocals from Maynard at the end.
I've given both "Mer de Noms" and "Thirteenth Step" a 5 star rating, which are well deserved. If I had to choose only one to listen to in the whole deserted island scenario, I'd probably pick "Thirteenth Step". It's tighter and more refined than its predecessor, both musically and lyrically. But that's a moot point, as I don't have to worry about ever being on a deserted island; thus, I can enjoy both APC masterpieces whenever I want. You should too.
Best Songs: The Noose, Gravity, The Package, Vanishing, A Stranger.