Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I should have bought the album instead of the shirt...., July 22, 2007
I recently saw SGM perform these collection of freakishly exhilarating pieces of music. This is a band that is not only musically talented, but also conveys a convincing, creative, and pervasive persona. Carla Kihlstedt, Dan Rathbun, Nils Frykdahl, Matthias Bossi, and Michael Mellender all marched to their stage through the audience, playing a cheery yet equally eerie ballad on trumpets and other hand held instruments. All of them are dressed in homemade cloths, covered in white makeup, and with the exception of Carla, have various sections of their head shaved, braided, and growing long.
Many of the instruments are homemade, which are comprised of various pieces of metal, wood, and perhaps a trash can. I believe there is glockenspiel as well. There are your standard guitars, a violin, a bass; and then oddities, like the slide-piano log, pedal-action wiggler, and other strange and primitive instruments.
Their lyrics on this album, like their others, tend to be abstract and many of the members will deliver very odd and perhaps even disturbing non-sequiter soliloquies as their other instruments lay silent. The lyrical content often explores the dark and complex corners of the human psyche, or the "things that we bury," in the words of Carla.
Unlike their previous album, "In Glorious Times" seems employ, but not depend upon, heavy and distorted guitar riffs more often; which, obviously lends to a "metal" sound. But the textures, timbres, and dynamics of the multiple instruments and vocals they employ add a considerable layer of complexity, darkness, and beauty to this album.
The structure, melody, and meter of the songs within this album are far too complicated for me to understand let alone enumerate. But I can say they contribute to their overall sound greatly. Anyone with a deeper understanding of music theory will probably find something about their techniques to appreciate.
The only problem I have with this album, and SGM in general, is the feeling of being overwhelmed with the sheer complexity and weirdness of their music. SMG is not easy and relaxing music. But that is the price to be paid for such unique and odd music. This album will provide the brain with something highly desirable when listening to music: creativity and originality. But in my opinion it will not provide the brain with something that is also desirable when listening to music: predictability, easy listening, and relaxation.
I highly recommend this album, especially if you need to add something dark and flavorful to your music collection. Thanks for reading.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
3rd hit album in a row, December 10, 2007
Yes! I had to listen through a couple of times to be sure, but this is another great and satisfying album, from this at times stunningly powerful, at times intricately delicate, always emotionally moving, weird, unpredictable, theatrical, overall delicious Bay Area weirdo supergroup.
They're on their 3rd exploding drummer, and 2nd percussionist; but these 2 stickmen are good (and even contribute some songwriting), the rest of the jolly crew is intact, and the music is spot on as usual.
If Marilyn Manson, Peter Gabriel, Dagmar & Art Bears (but Carla's electric SGM violin kicks Fred Frith's violin's butt) & King Crimson got squished together in a train wreck, like the old ads for peanut butter & chocolate cups, they might make it onto a little corner, of the inside cover, of a Sleepytime Gorilla Museum album.
oh and speaking of the cover, at last we get more information, this time, than on the first 2 studio albums, on the source of the bizarre, unsettling SGM artwork and strange ideas..... that was Nils' dad, right? I guess it's a family affair.... makes it more real.
And of course if you haven't already picked up their first 2 studio albums "Grand Opening & Closing" and "Of Natural History", be sure to do so too. I'm still not sure what I think of their live album; need to listen to it some more.
And then you'll want to explore the whole extended musical family (that's why I call SGM a "supergroup") -- look up Idiot Flesh, Charming Hostess (check out their version of the Resident's "Working Down Below"), Faun Fables, Carla Kilstedht's solo albums, Moe! and all his collaborators in the Moe!kestra, etc.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Another amazing album!, June 28, 2008
Man....these guys can do no wrong! If you haven't heard SGM for yourself, describing them is like trying to explain Hitler to a 4 year old...it's hard to do.
Basically, they are avant-metal...but even that doesn't describe them. They have all the typical 'metal band' instruments, plus a violin plus a bunch of instruments they just flat out invented! This stuff is really high concept. It's so original in every way I just can't get enough of these guys (and girl). If you ever get a chance to see them live, please do so...I saw them in a tiny club in Toledo and it was one of the best shows i've ever seen. Talked with them after the show and they were super cool people as well.
These guys are the real deal. They saved a very mediocre music scene with the most original stuff i've ever heard.
Favorites:
Companions
Salt Crown
Angle of Repose
The Widening Eye
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