Circle Takes the Square: As the Roots Undo

by Pete Aleksa

Circle Takes the Square is an experimental emo/post-hardcore three-piece from Savannah, Georgia that consists of Drew Speziale on guitar and vocals, Kathy Coppola on bass and vocals, and Jay Wynne on drums and samples. With their chaotic drumming, spastic start/stop guitars, stoned out melodic passages, and male/female vocals that range from dueling screams and anthemic chants to cocky, singsong harmonies and soft, quivering whispers, Circle Takes the Square create a complex sound that blends the abrasive/chaotic styles the Blood Brothers and Daughters, the ambient instrumental styles of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and the indie-rock/emo sound of Bright Eyes.
Having already put out an EP and a 7” split with Pg. 99, the band just released its first full-length on Hyperrealist/Robotic Empire, As the Roots Undo, a romantic tale of life and death and everything inbetween.
An eerily whistled melody starts off the album, introducing the main musical motif that will reappear throughout the album in various forms on a number of instruments. The intro soon breaks into the shouted opening lines of the first track, “The Same Shade as Concrete”, a frantic collage of grind, indie-rock, and techno. Guitars and drums spazz all over the place before calming down for a danceable break that grinds into a folkish interlude. From there, the band fast descends into a barrage of metal riffage before introducing a electronic bass swell that soon becomes the beat for the crescendo.
“Crowquill” and “In the Nervous Light of Sunday” are masterful displays of metalcore and grind that the band keeps interesting by spicing them up with emo sing-alongs, dancebeats, and spoken word interludes that provide a short break from the chaos. The lyrics here are some of the best on the album, particularly on “Crowquill”.
The album then enters the calm, pretty section of the album in which the band displays their atmospheric side. The melodic, sample driven “Interview at the Ruins” reintroduces the main theme of the album, first on piano and then later as a vocal round to end the song.
“Non Objective Portrait of Karma” begins with a slow, dramatic instrumental buildup, full of droning melodies and elusive tones, that develops for nearly four minutes before the tension finally breaks and explodes into a full-out screamo assault, loaded with technical guitar riffs and grind drumming.
The album keeps this intensity for the grandiose two-track finale, which comprises a third of the eight-track album. The heavy “Kill the Switch” balances its craziness with brief interludes dominated by delayed guitars, spreading everything out only to have it come crashing back together. The final heavy breakdown descends into an ambient section that reincorporates the main motif and leads into the final track, the metal epic. “A Crater to Cough In” is a huge piece, building for nearly nine minutes before the album finally comes lyrically and musically full circle; a final chorus echoes the opening lines before the record closes with the same haunting motif that opened the album.
All in all the record is an impressively ambitious project that the band pulls off with remarkable skill. A rewarding album, full of layered intricacy that assures it won’t get old after a few listens.