The Perfect Circle Review

The Perfect Circle (live) by MAX ZT & DAN WHITEHOUSE is a deeply emotional and impactful track which strips back its melodic mix in order to deliver a narrative experience about the ever-present creak of time passing. Written by two people across the world from one another, the track has a pure and unique take on the human experience which feels deeply personal while also being universally relatable. It opens with a slow and experimental exploration of time through this spoken word segment. It has a meandering, opening piano part. This sets the self reflective tone and allows the audience to pick up the narrative breadcrumbs prior to the track growing in intensity. 

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The motif of the glass of water being filled up and emptied over and over creates this sense of time passing, reminding us of the cyclical nature of time. The vocals in this spoken word section are delicate and crisp, drawing us into the layers of musical depth and providing contrast to the flowing and bold singing vocals, used later in the track. The two juxtapose one another beautifully, with the opening voice being reserved and the secondary vocal being bold. This secondary voice belts out the lyrics with conviction and displays a style of singing that emphasises emotion over sonic execution. The piano sounds like a building waterfall, beginning gently and then evolving these dramatic and bold crashes and harmonies over time. Because it begins so slowly, the piano is given a lot of space to build up momentum. We get several layers of sound flowing on top of one another, matching the energetic performance of the vocalist. The way the melodic structure builds as the vocalist sings about the overture of time suggests a deep connection between the narrative and melodic structure which is very impressive, especially executed in a live piece of music. The sound MAX ZT & DAN WHITEHOUSE have created is excellent but I think to truly appreciate this track, you need to listen to it live and luckily in London on June the 25th you can. Check out the track below and pick up tickets here.