Skiddle Record Club: Week 6 - A Perfect Circle - Mer De Noms

Welcome to week six of the Skiddle Record Club - a place for the people behind the scenes at Skiddle to share the music they love, firstly with their colleagues and then with you, the reader.

Last week, Jamie from marketing "played it safe" with his choice, "Discovery", by the unmistakable Daft Punk. While it has been the first record choice for the club to receive perfect scores from a few listeners, it failed to take the top spot on our leaderboard. Some listeners thought Jamie played it too safe, with one claiming "Choosing this album for record club is like suggesting The Bible for book club. Pure cultural posturing to get a high score and I'm not having it, Jamie." Clearly, some participants are looking for something a little out of the box in this club; something unexpected that they've never heard before! However, some listeners found it to be a perfect callback and others identified it as the gateway to the wide world of electronic music. Fair to say that this record was divisive for the club! Get the full verdict on Daft Punk, which one listener described as a "joyous and optimistic record that literally makes you move involuntarily" HERE!

Moving on to week 6, Murph from our Operations team has clearly had enough of these electronic plink plonks and X Factor contestants! I guess we've gone round in a circle a bit back to the style of Swans from week 3. I guess you could even call that a perfect circle... Now, wait and see what the record is, cos...

 

Week 6 - Murph, Ops

Album: A Perfect Circle - Mer De Noms

Rate Your Music Score: 3.58/5

 

 

A Perfect Circle formed in 1999 in sunny Los Angeles, brought together by guitarist Billy Howerdel. Billy was working as a guitar technician, working with Nine Inch Nails, The Smashing Pumpkins and Fishbone, when he first met Maynard Keenan of Tool. Before long, Billy had moved into Maynard's spare room and the pair started sharing demos between them. Maynard offered to sing vocals on the tracks and A Perfect Circle were born. Over the years, a revolving cast of musicians have contributed to their records and live lineups, but the duo of Billy and Maynard has remained the backbone of the band. They have carved for themselves their own legacy as one of the early 2000s best Alternative metal bands, combining heavy riffs and Tool-esque guitar tones with 90s alt/grunge songwriting. 

'Mer De Noms' is the band's debut album, released in 2000. Upon release, the album went to number 4 in the Billboard 200, the highest Billboard position for a debut album from a rock band. The critics loved it, too, praising the bands' ability to bring together Maynards characteristic vocals and Billys fusing of prog, metal and alternative rock. "In exploring their corrupt visions, A Perfect Circle have created a work of morbid beauty. In terms of darkness, it eclipses nearly everything else" stated the NME in their 7/10 review. Melody Maker, Q and Sputnikmusic all gave the album 4 stars, with the latter stating "Among these brilliant songs, the album has much more to offer, most songs being extremely melodic and beautiful, a sound A Perfect Circle embraces on Thirteenth Step and takes to another level." The record has maintained popularity in the 21 years since its release. It often features in retrospective "best of the decade" lists, including Metal Hammers "20 best metal albums of 2000".

"I only really discovered this late on - roughly fifteen years after it was released(!) but I think it's a good representation of my musical taste," states Murph, when asked why he selected Mer De Noms for the record club. "It's definitely in the broad 'alternative rock' realm (*face_vomiting*) but I think it's hard to tie the sound down more specifically than that due to the variation between songs. I find myself returning to this album a lot and manage to pick out more of the minor details with each new listen." So now, 21 years after its release, did our Record Club patrons have that same late connection as our Murph? Find out below... 

 

(Click the link below to listen to the album in full below)

 

So, what does the rest of the Skiddle team think?

Skiddle Record Club Score: 3.25/5 (Highest: 4, Lowest: 1)

When asked if participants would listen again, 87.5 % said yes, while only 12.5 % said no. But why is this the case?

 

The Bad

So how did the Skiddle Record Club take to some "Alternative Metal" in their record club this week? Well... "Woahhh no, just nope. Personally not a vibe." Not a convert there then... On the whole, though, listeners were impressed and in some cases, surprised to have liked it as much as they did. This is "The Bad" though, so what didn't they like? " I just wanted a bit more aggression in the vocal parts like the Ned de Moms track or whatever it was called, more shouting, please." Seems it wasn't heavy enough for one listener! What a mosher! 

One listener critiqued the production of the record a little, stating "it was a little robotic, in that the production is very polished - I like records to sound a bit roomier and looser" but they did follow that up with "that could just be due to great musicianship and tight playing" so I guess, really, that's a compliment? 

"Would have liked a bit more fast-paced energy in the tracks. Was a bit too droney for me at times."

"The melodic style is a little out of my usual tastes which is no bad thing, it just meant I didn't quite get into this side as much."

"Don't only psychopaths draw perfect circles? It sounds like a metal album that was released in 2000. "

"I think some of the songs sound a bit samey"

 

The Good

But, as I said, most people were fully prepared to throw up the horns for this one! It scored our highest percentage yet for re-listens, with 87.5% of listeners ready to circle back round to the start. See what I did there? Circle? Oh, I already did that one didn't I? Well anyway, let's look at some nice words, shall we? One listener had pre-conceptions of A Perfect Circle, pre-conceptions that they withdraw now in hindsight! "I always thought that A Perfect Circle were quite cheesy and I've never been a fan of Tool, so I went in expecting to not be a big fan, but I really enjoyed this record."  they went on to say "It has a sort of atmosphere that's simultaneously warm and comforting, but also mysterious and unexpected." Another listener backed them up on the vibe of the record "Catchy riffs coupled with heavy/ dark tones Created a cool, grungy atmosphere!" Lovely stuff!

One listener was particularly keen on one lyric - "I liked the bit in Orestes when he says 'A Perfect Circle'. It's like that bit in Jurassic Park, or Back to the Future when they say 'Jurassic Park', or 'Back to the future'" getting a bit meta there! Another person called out a particular track: "I enjoyed the album and I particularly liked the song Magdalena. This album is a good Segway into the heavier side of rock" maybe Skiddle staff are just a bunch of moshers? Who knows.

"Has the hallmark of an album that will continue to reveal itself after multiple listens. Very good choice." 

"Loved the size of the sound, the interesting time signatures and unusual rhythms."

"The album cover is kinda cute"

"The choruses soar, especially on the tracks "Orestes" and "3 Libras", which, for me are the highlights of the album, and they come back to back."

 

Leaderboard

 

The results are in! 'Mer De Noms' just beats out Daft Punk with a score of 3.25 stars from the Skiddle team, claiming the number 2 spot, which means... Grouper remains atop the throne for 5 WEEKS! I must say, I am surprised that A Perfect Circle was so well received by the club! But whats even more surprising is Groupers unstoppable winning streak! Will it fall from grace next week?

 

Next week's record choice comes courtesy of Michelle Rodriguez, one of our Account Managers. 

 

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