A Perfect Circle – Three Sixty (2013) – Album Review

Three Sixty is A Perfect Circle’s first full-length release in nine years, since 2004’s eMOTIVe, and it’s the first best-of collection from the alternative outfit. Due out November 19th, Three Sixty contains the band’s first new song in a decade, “By and Down,” as well as four live tracks (on the deluxe edition).

Track listings can be found below for both the 13-track standard edition and the two-disc, 19-track deluxe edition of Three Sixty.

Pre-order Three Sixty on Amazon:
Standard edition: MP3 and CD ($11.99)
Deluxe edition: MP3

Fans of A Perfect Circle will be familiar with the collection of songs found here, and they’ll find what I love about this band, an underlying urgency masked in soothing melodies and wrapped in deep, full, and rich low ends. The bass and fullness of sound is what has always drawn me to the works of Maynard James Keenan (Tool, Puscifer).

Of course, A Perfect Circle is more than just Maynard; the group was co-founded by Maynard and Billy Howerdel, who actually served as Tool’s guitar tech during the recording of and tour for Ænima. There’s also been a revolving door of notable musicians participating in the band: James Iha (Smashing Pumpkins), Troy Van Leeuwen (Queens of the Stone Age, Failure), Paz Lenchantin (Entrance Band, Zwan), Jeordie White (Marilyn Manson), Josh Freese (The Vandals, Devo) and Tim Alexander (Primus).

About the collection of songs on Three Sixty, Maynard stated that:

Billy and I created A PERFECT CIRCLE out of a now long-running friendship, and I think the music we have made reflects that personal connection and has given us the ability to further develop and trust our intuition. I feel Three Sixty is an accurate representation of that friendship and those instincts.

Focusing our attention on the new track, “By and Down,” it’s a soulful, melancholical ode to a lost love. It has a soft and ethereal tone that reminds me a lot of The Cure. It’s definitely something to check out, but it certainly doesn’t justify purchasing Three Sixty — the rest of the tracks do that. Regarding the track, Maynard said:

‘By And Down’, which is the new track that we’ve been working on, that we never quite got around to recording.

To me, that sounds like warmed up leftovers.

Three Sixty track listing:

Standard Edition

01. The Hollow
02. Judith
03. Orestes
04. 3 Libras
05. Weak And Powerless
06. The Noose
07. The Outsider
08. Blue
09. When The Levee Breaks
10. Imagine
11. Counting Bodies Like Sheep To The Rhythm Of The War Drums
12. Passive
13. By And Down

Deluxe Edition

Disc 1
01. The Hollow
02. Rose
03. Judith
04. Orestes
05. 3 Libras
06. The Package
07. Weak And Powerless
08. The Noose
09. The Outsider
10. Blue

Disc 2
01. Imagine
02. Passive
03. People Are People (live)
04. Counting Bodies Like Sheep To The Rhythm Of The War Drums
05. When The Levee Breaks
06. By And Down
07. 3 Libras (live)
08. Gravity (live)
09. Fiddle And The Drum (live)

The Verdict

I almost feel like Three Sixty is a must-have, not just for fans, but also for anyone who’s moderately enjoyed A Perfect Circle’s music in the past. The majority of the album is calm with spikes of intensity that are neither offensive to the ears nor obnoxious. It’s the type of album that you can either play loud and really get into or you can play it at low volumes to lull you to sleep or use to focus your attention on work. Basically, it’s a perfect album for almost all occasions.