A Perfect Circle’s Billy Howerdel has released a new solo single, “Poison Flowers,” ahead of a planned full-length album.
Fans of Howerdel’s work with APC will be pleased to hear that “Poison Flowers” stays in the same wheelhouse of melodic alternative rock. Trip-hop and electronic influences peer through in the song’s percussion, which percolates beneath ethereal guitar passages and Howerdel’s soothing vocals.
“’Poison Flowers’ began with the bass guitar part and all of the pieces flowed from there,” Howerdel said of the self-produced track, on which he handles all vocals and instrumentation save for the drums (Josh Freese). “It’s a rare feeling when the process of writing blocks out all distractions. The upcoming songs reflect back to my earliest influences and ‘Poison Flowers’ leads well into the rest of the album.”
Howerdel recently played a solo concert as part of the opening festivities for the #Happens Las Vegas conference. His band was rounded out by Freese, Danny Lohner (Nine Inch Nails), Kaela Sinclair (M83), and Kevin Maher (Fake Shark) — perhaps a sneak peek at the touring lineup if Howerdel takes his solo material on the road.
Howerdel is the driving force behind A Perfect Circle, who also feature Tool’s Maynard James Keenan and Smashing Pumpkins’ James Iha. The band’s most recent album was 2018’s Eat the Elephant, which came 14 years after their previous full-length effort.
In 2008, Howerdel released what was essentially a solo album under the name Ashes Divide, but his upcoming LP will be the first to come out under his own name.
No further information or a release date is yet available for Howerdel’s solo album. In the meantime, you can stream “Poison Flowers” and see the single’s artwork below.
“Poison Flowers” Artwork:
