Billy Howerdel Talks Returning To Australia With A Perfect Circle

In May, A Perfect Circle teased a long-awaited cycle of music with the release of a standalone single, 'Starless'. 

A classic, atmospheric sound that blends with a fresh appetite for sonic malevolence, the track was enough to remind fans that the creative wheels have continued to turn for the American supergroup, whose last album - Eat The Elephant - was released in 2018.

Though there hasn't been official news of what a new studio album from A Perfect Circle will sound like, there’s a good chance that fans will be hearing more from it as we head further into the New Year.

With the band's return to Australia imminent, founding member Billy Howerdel is calmly confident that a new record will be manifesting in A Perfect Circle's near future.

"What's most exciting is coming back with a new album," he says, looking ahead to the Australian summer run. "Who knows, hopefully that won't be coming too far after [this tour].

"Deciding which song to go with first is always interesting. This one ['Starless'] was kinda what was naturally coming together as a first choice. There are other songs that are much further along now, but I think it was a good reintroduction to what we’re doing."

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When we speak with Howerdel, A Perfect Circle hasn't long been off the road, having completed a European run of shows in the first half of 2026. From his home in Los Angeles, Howerdel has since been pouring himself back into the music - a process he considers fulfilling and frustrating in equal measure.

"I'm out of the excitement zone of live, and back into the torture zone of making music and second-guessing things. It's actually going pretty well!" he laughs.

On which side of things he prefers, Howerdel admits, "I oscillate back and forth. It's definitely more exciting live, it's the proving ground for what you've done and seeing how it will be received. You can see how the chemistry is between you and the audience, it then runs its course and then you go off and make music again. 

"I feel lucky to be able to go back and forth. Right now, it feels so foreign to have done shows not that long ago. I don't know why that is, I get home, and I almost forget what it's like to be onstage."

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When it comes to creating new music with Maynard James Keenan - who will be pulling double duty on this tour with Puscifer - Howerdel describes their chemistry as one that is ever evolving. Of course, when you have a band made up of musicians whose talents are part of many different projects, nailing down concentrated time together is always a hurdle. 

Yet sometimes, the challenges can breed some moments of genius in the creative process. It's a double-edged sword of a situation, but is one that Howerdel can look at with a sense of optimism.

"I sometimes wish we had more long periods of focused time working together," he muses. "Then again, that scarcity plays into things too. We'll bounce ideas off each other and then sit in the incubator on our own, figuring out where to go with them. I think that keeps things fresh. It keeps things stressful, honestly! But that’s not always a bad thing, as long as you come out the other side of it."

"The energy is good though," he adds. "Playing the new track live has been great. It did not take a lot for it to sound enmeshed within the setlist. It just felt like it's a song that has been there, and has honoured the rest of the material."

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Four albums strong, A Perfect Circle has created some beloved records that have become part of alt-rock's tapestry through the 2000's. Whether you fell for the group through their seminal 2000 debut Mer de Noms or its striking follow-up, 2003's Thirteenth Step; or if your gateway was 2004's Emotive, the band’s collection of sounds is a masterclass in world-building.

Now at a stage of their career where they're able to look back as they make new sounds, Howerdel himself has been enjoying tapping back into core memories through the music he has helped create.

"Not to be too nerdy about it, but even though my gear doesn't change that much, revisiting something I haven't used in a while…an effects processor or something, having it help uncover the story, can do a lot," he explains.

"The talk of memory through physical things, smells, things that bring you back to a certain place. For me, that says a lot. Being able to smell grandma's rose garden and tap into a feeling, or hold a yearbook from your youth and have it transport you right back to having an adventure with a friend…those things can do a lot for me.

"When something really jars your memory back into a good place, or a challenging place, those are the things we need to tell stories. It doesn’t even need to be a narrative story, I'm just trying to give an atmosphere, something for Maynard to latch onto, and then bring to the process where he's at. What he's observing of the world, of his world."

Well aware of the power of sound and language, Howerdel understands how important an audience’s relationship with one's art is. Reconnecting with A Perfect Circle fans, as he will in Australia at the end of the year, has been rejuvenating for the multi-instrumentalist and songwriter; it is possibly part of the job that he reveres the most.

"That’s the greatest honour, when somebody feels that something is timeless," he smiles. "That something is worth connecting to a past memory: a soundtrack to a summer, a soundtrack to an event. 

"That's what it was for me, that's what music has always been. I can hear things and be completely transported back. Stating the obvious, I think most people feel it at some point of their lives being a casual or heavy music listener. For me, I always wanted to write music that made me feel the same way as the things I had grown up listening to. That's paying it forward."

Catch A Perfect Circle performing at AEC Arena on Friday 4 December. Tickets on sale now at livenation.com.au.