A Perfect Circle
“Mer de Noms”
3 out of 5 MeErkats
Dave Garrison, June 2000
Being a Christian, it is often hard for me to take Maynard James Keenan’s lyrics. Such as with the opening verse of Judith, the first song to be released from this album that says, “Your such an inspiration for the way that I will never, ever choose to be. Whoa so many ways for me to show you how your saint has abandoned you…Fuck your God!” At first glance, it just seems to be blatantly sacrilegious and needlessly hostile, which it very well may be. But it is strangely magnetic. Musically, it is a great song, and the emotion of it is I think what draws me. I think rather that Judith is actually a challenge to blind faith rather than an affront to God. This is not a surprise though because A Perfect Circle (APC) is a band containing Maynard James Keenan of Tool and Billy Howerdel who has written for the smashing pumpkins, and emotion is one thing that both of these bands has never lacked.
However Mer de Noms falls short of the glory that is Tool. Explicitly cited as NOT being a side project, APC does have a different feel than Tool. Taking on a much mellower, melodic style, it is missing the hard edge. But what it lacks in raw anger it makes up for in pure emotion. Maynard here has obviously poured himself into the lyrics, making them meaningful even to people who disagree with him. He transforms what could be blatantly anger-driven hard rock drivel into a palatable series of ballads that convey his confusion and frustration with the world. The rest of the band is solid, and almost too easily playing through his verses. They however do not do anything super creative or noteworthy. But as evident with APC’s contrast to Tool, the rest of the band did have a hand in the songs.
Songs that stood out on the album were “Judith,” “Magdalena” and “Rose.” This album will be a welcome addition to anyone who enjoys Tool’s mellower songs, can deal with the “new” Pearl Jam pace, and doesn’t mind looking past the surface of potentially offensive lyrics. But it is far from being a great record. There are very few memorable songs and little to catch a casual listener to come back for more. But APC has to be admired for their courage in releasing Judith first off the CD; and whether one will admit it or not, Maynard’s lyrics play out an uncertainty about life that we all have had. APC doesn’t attempt to provide answers, only to challenge convictions – and a challenge is good sometimes because “what does not kill you makes you stronger.”
Note: Tool HAS NOT broken up – they are just on hiatus. Also, catch Maynard on the new Deftones album, white pony.