THIRD

This is an interesting mix of mathcore, space rock, psychedelia krautrock and avant-prog music. For the most part, the music is very busy and builds a chaotic wall of sound between instruments, lyrics and wordless vocals. The sound is built off of heavy psychedelic guitars that range freely around a moving bass, frantic drumming and heavy synth with some brass added in for that Kayo Dot type feel. Indeed, you can hear some influence of that band and the music also reminds me of early Mercury Rev material also. This music is very experimental, but is by no means ambient. It is usually harsh and heavy, sometimes going way over the top with noise and dissonance.

The album follows this style throughout with only a few breaks in the chaos at the beginning of "Dreamland II" and the lovely "Sleepwalker". This is great neo-psychedelia music, but at times it is weakened by the production, but not enough to be a major issue. The vocals are not very decipherable, but that is what you would expect from this style of music. At times, the vocals can get very chaotic just like the music, and in this way they become part of the entire picture instead of being the centerpiece of the music. In fact, the vocals never really become a centerpiece, but then, neither do any of the sounds or instruments.

This is a pretty good attempt at stretching the boundaries of rock and works well alongside the early music of Mercury Rev. If you appreciate that style of music, then you will love this. I find it a little too chaotic at times and there are too many passages that continue on without any real change for too long. I do admit I enjoy the last 3 tracks better than the rest of the album because there is at least a breakdown of the thick layered sound in those tracks to some extent. This is the saving grace of the music. I have to say that there are sections of the music that I am really impressed with the musicality and the sound, but there are too many places where I just feel buried by the sound. The music is good, but I can't really consider it essential, though I do hear some leanings to much greater explorations in the future. Not bad, but not great either except for some instances. 3 stars.