Posted on: July 15, 2007 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

Sleepytime Gorilla Museum – In Glorious Times / 2007 The End / 11 Tracks / http://www.sleepytimegorillamuseum.com / http://www.theendrecords.com /

The disconcerting sound that Sleepytime Gorilla Museum puts forth on their “The Companions” blends circus music with a movie score. The falsetto cuts through listeners and the music on the track alike; when the band finally breaks into a harder rock style, things change. Of course, the circus feel to the track remains, but it is hidden behind aggressive guitars and a set of vocals that bounce back and forth between a Morrissey sound and that of Trey Parker. The decision to have the disc’s longest track up first (at ten minutes, it is over a minute longer than anything else on the disc) is a controversial one.

However, the Sleepytime Gorilla Museum is able to break up the track into a number of different movements, and change things up in those movements enough that individuals will stay interested. The band shifts again during “The Companions” into something that is a blend of the instrumentals from a Bond movie and a new-rock track. The styles fight it out amongst each other before the band moves back into a Spartan style, winding down for the last segment of the track. “Helpless Corpses Enactment” moves the band into a black metal sound, which the band is actually able to work to their complete advantage. The track opens up into a blend of old Disturbed and Cannibal Corpse, with any form of structure thrown out the window soon after. The eclectic nature of the band is manifest in a schizophrenic sound, one that makes it possible for Sleepytime Gorilla Museum to approach a number of styles within a short period of time.

However off the wall and experimental Sleepytime Gorilla Museum might get with their efforts on “In Glorious Times”, there is an underlying theme to the madness. “Puppet Show” marks a return to the dystopian sound that set off the beginning of the disc, with a more fifties sci-fi atmosphere imbued on the track. Sleepytime Gorilla Museum is an act that does not need vocal accompaniment on any of the tracks on “In Glorious Times”. When the band does use vocals, it is with the express purpose to further the instrumentation. When vocals are used during “Puppet Show”, they provide additional gravity to what is already a serious and intense track. The band may be a little too “out there” for some, but will provide those willing to tempt fate with large rewards.

Top Tracks: The Salt Crown, Angle of Repose

Rating: 6.8/10

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