Circle Takes the Square explained

Circle Takes the Square
Landscape:	yes
Origin:	Savannah, Georgia, U.S.
Genre:	Screamo, post-hardcore, experimental rock^[1]
Years Active:	1999–present
Label:	Gatepost Recordings, Robotic Empire, HyperRealist, Perpetual Motion Machine
Current Members:	Drew Speziale Kathleen Stubelek Caleb Collins
Past Members:	David Rabitor Jay Wynne Bobby Scandiffio Josh Ortega Colin Kelly Robbie Rose

Circle Takes the Square is an American screamo band from Savannah, Georgia. It is composed of founding members Drew Speziale and Kathleen Stubelek, as well as Caleb Collins. Their debut release was a 6-track self-titled EP released in 2001, followed by a 7" split with Pg. 99 in 2002. In 2004, they released their debut studio album As the Roots Undo on Robotic Empire, which released the CD, and HyperRealist Records, which released the gatefold LP. The album gained them considerable acclaim and the band toured extensively to promote it during the year. This included a six-week east coast tour that took the band into Canada for the first time, supported by Arkata and Raise Them And Eat Them.^[2] The band's second album, , was released after an 8-year silence on December 21, 2012, as a digital download; physical editions of the album were released in April 2013.

Musical style

Ben Sailer of Noisey wrote that As the Roots Undo, which Drew Speziale "describes as 'just a punk rock record from 2004', has long garnered praise from both the press and fans alike for its forward-thinking blend of 90s screamo, fractured grindcore, and experimental post-rock".^[3] According to Metal Injection, Circle Takes the Square have "made a legendary name for themselves ... with their blend of progressive experimentation and DIY hardcore, metal, and noise ... characterized by a natural fusion of the off-the-wall structures of grindcore and the sweeping guitar dynamics of post-punk".^[4] They have described themselves as "...a punk rock band with reverence for the Mystery."^[5] Writing for NPR music, Lars Gotrich credited Circle Takes the Square alongside Pg. 99, Orchid and Majority Rule as pioneers of emotional post-hardcore.^[6]

Members

Current

Drew Speziale – guitars, strings, piano, keyboard, vocals (1999–present)
Kathleen Coppola Stubelek – bass, vocals (1999–present)
Caleb Collins – drums, percussion, samples, programming, synthesizers (2007–present)
Anthony Stubelek - live production (2004–present)

Former

Robbie Rose – vocals (1999–2000)
Collin Kelly – guitar (1999–2002)
Jay Wynne – drums, percussion (1999–2005)
Bobby Scandiffio – guitar (2004–2006; died 2011)
Josh Ortega – drums, percussion (2005–2007)
David Rabitor – guitars, backing vocals (2007–2013)

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

As the Roots Undo (2004, Robotic Empire/HyperRealist)
(2012, Gatepost Recordings)

EPs

Circle Takes the Square (2001, self-released/HyperRealist)
Document #13: Pyramids in Cloth (split w/Pg. 99, August 2002, Perpetual Motion Machine)
Decompositions: Volume Number One, Chapter I: Rites of Initiation (2011, Gatepost Recordings)

Compilations

"In the Nervous Light of Sunday" (Alternate version) 10" vinyl only(2004, Monocore Records)
"Crowquill" — Building Records Presents 60 Songs (November 2003, Building)
"Non-Objective Portrait of Karma" — Robotic Empire Sampler No. 2 (2004, Robotic Empire)
"The Conspiracy of Seeds" — 65daysofstatic - The Destruction of Small Ideas (April 2007, Monotreme)

Notes and References

Web site: Circle Takes The Square premier new song Way of Ever-Branching Path . Espy Rock . August 22, 2011 . May 6, 2012.
Web site: Julien. Alexandre. Alexander Julien. August 7, 2012. Raise Them and Eat Them Official Biography. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170320090815/http://www.abridgedpause.com/raisethemandeatthem. March 20, 2017. September 13, 2020. Abridged Pause Blog. en-US.
Web site: "It's Just a Punk Record from 2004": Circle Takes The Square Discuss the Ten-Year Anniversary of 'As The Roots Undo'. Sailer. Ben. Noisey. April 7, 2014. January 16, 2017.
Web site: Circle Takes the Square is in the studio. Metal Injection. June 15, 2008. January 17, 2017.
Web site: EXCLUSIVE: CIRCLE TAKES THE SQUARE - IN THE STUDIO . Taylor . Darren . April 4, 2011 . March 16, 2018.
Web site: pg. 99: A Document Revisited . Gotich . Lars . August 17, 2011 . . December 30, 2011 . [...]there's a renewed interest in the emotional post-hardcore that bands like pg. 99, Orchid, Circle Takes the Square and Majority Rule pioneered, mostly by an audience that was far too young to hear it the first time around..