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.

The Fall of Troy

by Pete Aleksa

Hailing from Mukilteo, Washington, The Fall of Troy are a three-piece progressive-hardcore band that sound like the amphetamine-addicted bastard child of a ménage à trois between The Blood Brothers, The Mars Volta and King Crimson.
The trio of Thomas Erak on lead vocals and guitar, Tim Ward on bass and vocals, and Andrew Forsman on drums, had already released an EP, Ghostship Demos, and their full-length debut, the self-titled Fall of Troy (released when the band’s members were only 17) when they signed with the Equal Vision label last year.
The band recently released its second full-length record, Doppelganger, a genre-defying mix of screamo, math-metal, post-hardcore, pop, jazz, experimental rock, and most everything else. In the face of this seemingly chaotic blend of styles the band is able to maintain a delicate balance throughout the album. The resulting record is a collection of brutal breakdowns, melodic hooks, free-jazz spaceouts, and lo-fi ambiance that manages to flow effortlessly despite the wildly complex arrangement of the material; Erak’s frantic vocals and elaborate fretwork adorning Ward and Forsman’s complex rhythms as the songs shift at ADHD speed.
Following the unspoken rule of the semi-pretentious post-hardcore scene that mandates song titles that are bizarre amalgamations of pop-culture laden wit, Doppelganger features songs with titles such as, “We Better Learn to Hotwire A Uterus,” “Macaulay McCulkin,” “Laces Out, Dan!” and “Whacko Jacko Steals the Elephant Man’s Bones,” demonstrating the band has style as well as substance.
Fresh off a recent stint on the Dudestorm Tour opening for label mates Bear vs. Shark and Fear Before the March of Flames, The Fall of Troy have made waves with their energetic live show, a delightful blend of wild onstage freakouts and improvisational jamming. The Fall of Troy are set to hit the road with the likes of The Jonbenet and The Number 12 Looks Like You in the coming months.