A Perfect Circle

As much a political statement as it is a new release, the third disc from Tool front-man Maynard Keenan’s "other band” compiles ten war-themed cover songs and two new original tracks for this anti-Bush collection released on the day of the U.S. election. The diversity of influences for APC’s sound starts to make sense when they deconstruct and reassemble songs from ’60s and ’70s notables John Lennon ("Imagine”), Marvin Gaye ("What’s Going On?”) and Joni Mitchell ("Fiddle and the Drum”) to ’80s punk and new wave purveyors Devo ("Freedom of Choice”), Depeche Mode ("People Are People”), Fear ("Let’s Have a War”) and Black Flag ("Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie”). Some of them work, some of them don’t, but none of them sound anything like the songs you know. The two originals do stand out as particularly dark and gloomy, even by APC standards. The band deserves big points for creativity and bravery, if not for execution of the concept.