They May Actually Have Something to Say
Eight years is a long time to wonder. A Perfect Circle dropped “Starless” without warning this week — no rollout, no single cycle, no announcement window — and the honest reaction is that it’s good. And if you’re a Tool guy who’s always held APC at arm’s length, that means something.
“Starless” is A Perfect Circle’s first standalone new single since Eat the Elephant (2018) — the second new track under the APC name in that time, counting “Kindred” from the 2024 Sessanta collaboration with Puscifer and Primus. The band also announced a 2026 world tour, with UK and European dates opening June 3 in London. Latin American, Australian, and Japanese legs are slated to follow. No North American dates announced yet. The single is out now, with a limited 7” vinyl on the way in two pressing variants. Band statement via Knotfest.
There’s a version of this story where APC drops a song, people say “oh nice,” and we move on. “Starless” isn’t that. It’s the kind of track that makes you genuinely curious what a full LP might sound like — which APC hasn’t made you feel in a while. Maynard James Keenan has made it clear over the years that Tool is the priority; APC has always had the feel of a side project that surfaces every few years, reminds you it exists, and disappears again. A standalone single with no album attached could still be exactly that. But this song doesn’t sound like a placeholder. It sounds like a band that has something to say, and is getting ready to say it.
If a new record materializes, it’ll be the first proper APC album in eight years. That’s worth watching.
Source: A Perfect Circle / Knotfest