The one thing I heard about the Flobots that stuck with me after “Handlebars” had faded off of WFNX back in 2008 is that on the tour for Fight With Tools their founder and co-MC Johnny 5 never took off any of the admission bracelets (you know, the cheap papery-plastic things that clubs use to show you’ve paid) from the shows they played; he just kept adding them to his arms and letting them fall off as they got too battered to continue. By the time they were done he was covered from wrist to bicep on both sides. It’s a fair metaphor for the way the Flobots do business: they’re out there at the show with you, and they want to remember it just as badly as you do.
Circle In The Square finds a stripped-down version of the band. Their guitarist and trumpet player both left after their second record (Survival Story, 2010) leaving one of the oddest instrumentations in pop music – two MCs (Johnny 5 and the more laid back Brer Rabbit), drums, bass, and viola. It’s not as far-fetched as it seems; this is indie-rock hip hop, and it doesn’t need a lot to dress it up.
The title track opens it up in stellar form: driving alterna-rock beat, frantic funk-dance bass a la Shout Out Out Out Out, accent and melody from the viola that Dre would have put on a plink synth, and big gang-vocal choruses spaced around furious rhymes. There is an undeniable energy to the whole thing; Flobots are out to make your head nod AND make your booty shake, and they do both with charm and dexterity.
Moving deeper, Flobots flirt with most of the modern hip hop styles processed through their unique filter. ”Run (Run Run Run)” and “Gonna Be Free” take the same head-nod stance that marks the first Gorillaz record and the best of young Snoop; “One Last Show” grabs a Latin dance-hall beat and fuses a nearly Yiddish viola line to it. ”Stop the Apocalypse” and “Wrestling Israel” have a similar dark bombast and slick vocal flow as early Jay Z (though the choruses are too much of a break from the rhymes, and really neither MC is as good as Brooklyn’s finest). The spare instrumentation does a lot to showcase the rhythmic work of the two MCs, while still being full enough to shift moods without difficulty.
The high point, though, is “The Rose and the Thistle”. It’s built on a mid-tempo retro soul reminiscent of The Roots (all groove, all the time) with a staccato little viola figure on top, crisp and clever rhymes, and a smooth chorus vocal (Mackenzie Gault has a pretty, if un-dynamic, voice when she steps away from her viola). Imagine Gym Class Heroes building a track from a Decemberists sample.
If Circle has a flaw, it’s in the Flobots inability to leave off the themes of personal action in a shitty world (“#Occupyearth” is dangerously close to being simply pedantic, and “Journey After (War Fatigues)” is actually preachy). It’s most painful and obvious when the tempo slows down. Fortunately, their tight sound and crisp rhymes make it easy to forgive the continuous call to arms.
In the end, Circle is a very good record. It has a cohesive sound without sacrificing variety (are you listening, Mike Doughty!?!?) and handles a wide array of tropes without failing to sound fresh. While the stripped out sound would be weak if they started playing arenas, the beats are infectious enough to melt your face in the mid-sized clubs where Flobots belong.
Final Grade: A-. What can I say? It’s a good sound, just a tiny bit marred by politicism. Buy the whole record, but put “Circle In The Square”, “Run (Run Run Run)”, “The Rose and the Thistle”, and “One Last Show” on the MP3 player in your car.
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