When it comes to bands I love, I am ready to write the most bloated praise-filled tribute possible. This however comes only after a perilous first listen. You see by placing them on the pedestal of what other bands should aspire to. they must meet these exalted expectations. If they are one of the best bands I have ever seen live then expectations are even higher. If they are coming back 17 years later, after you lived thinking their last album was the final chapter, then you can only hope for the best album ever, and Sleepytime Gorilla Museum has reopened to attempt to make their best album yet. 2007's "In Glorious Times" is a perfect album, so they are not trying to take it head on but in a more mature step forward with the emphasis on more of the chamber music side, while employing all the creepy dissonance they are known for.
This is not to say the album is not empowered by strong grooves as they pull out the jams for both "El Evil" and "S.P.OR.". Which are the two strongest songs of the album's first act. After the vaudevillian parade of "We Must Know More," they break into the more metallic chaotic tension of "The Gift", which recalls the mood of "In Glorius Times". To show the breadth of their sonic range there are also songs like "Hush, Hush" that sound more like Bjork than the kind of syncopated wizardry they are known for until the song climaxes. Things take on a more King Crimson level of prog on "Save It" which is the first song I would not call dark. In fact, it might be the first upbeat song I have heard from this band.
The angular groove of "Burn into Light" is highly effective, as the vocals fall in line with where they are going. The more Mr. Bungle-like thrashing is an undertone of the song, but not its main theme. The bass player takes the mic on "Old Gray Heron" and finds a Pink Floyd-like guitar solo wailing in the distance to give more of a rock effect than you normally hear from these guys. I have never heard him sing aggressively, but he does eventually here. When thinking of this album as a whole, I must think about the moments that required multiple listens to set in or things like the closing song which is an instrumental that stays true to the angular moments of ambiance. 'Silver Fish" is the song I had to return to the most to fully embrace it. It ventures off into the more Bjork-like tenderness. It does not conform to where you think most ballads of this sort might go. I will go ahead and give this one a 10 as those moments take time to process.
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