It seems that the emo genre has become complacent in the past few years, inundating the scene with a steady tide of indistinguishable ensembles that generally lack the energy to even try and sound different from their peers. Savannah, Georgia's own Circle Takes The Square have proven to be the oddity amongst all of these tears and jaded emotions, as their screamo aesthetic reaches far beyond the expected hardcore/emo boundaries and has captured a vibrant dose of artistic credibility necessary to survive. Though they have birthed a handful of well-received but criminally unavailable releases (most notably a split 7" with fellow screamo group pg.99), nothing has quite punctuated the group's kinetic energy like their adventurous debut full-length, "As The Roots Undo".

Circle Takes The Square have the ability to erase one's preconceptions towards modern day screamo, as their elaborate song structures and dynamic male/female vocal blending challenge the formula, leaving little room for shoe-gazing. Supplying the listener with atmospheric ambiance in the vein of Mogwai along with raging doses of violently spastic hardcore, the group weave a web of disenchanted dreams and all too realistic nightmares. The hunger within these musicians is exposed for all to witness as they repeatedly pummel one's ears with bitterly acerbic blasts of rabid grindcore intensity, and yet these vicious slabs of barbarism fall away to panoramic soundscapes of haunting beauty. This perilous flirtation between the fragile and the chaotic is startling in its urgency, and cathartic in its intimacy.

As it stands the group carry a stigma that seems to cut the scene in half, with the scale balanced between fanatical fervor for the band's artistic vision and staunch vehemence towards the mangled explosions of sound assaulting their ears. The schizophrenic design that "As The Roots Undo" has adopted does indeed feel scattered at times, and this hectic mish-mash of ideas may be just too edgy and open-ended for all listeners to embrace. But with their unpredictable inventiveness and a flair for aural debauchery Circle Takes The Square are surely a beacon of light on a choppy sea of mediocrity, proving that there is still potential for invigorating, original acts from the emo community. It is only up to the intrepid listeners now to steer their ship in the right direction.