By far the most creative and original band I have heard in my lifetime, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum (or SGM for short, or this review will be a pain to write) created a MONSTER of a debut album with Grand Opening and Closing. SGM were an avant-garde band from California, and they were probably the first true experimental band I started listening to. If you asked me to describe their overall sound, or what genre they played, I probably couldn't tell you. But if you could picture a virtual orchestra-worth of instruments, some of which were created by the band members themselves (what in blue blazes is a pedal-action wiggler, tangularium, or a lever-action lever?) and played by the inmates of an insane asylum, then you'd be coming close.
The album opens with one of my favourite SGM songs, Sleep Is Wrong, a terrifying avant-rock song of organically shifting tempos that sets the stage for SGM's overall sound and mission perfectly. Vocalists Nils Frykdahl and Carla Kihlstedt (also of Book of Knots) have the perfect vocal deliveries for a band as strange as SGM. They have a level of dramatic flair to them, but not so much as to put them way over the top or to make them sound corny. They are both creepy as hell, but can also show off how beautiful their voices are when needed. In short, both of them are incredible singers.
The stories that SGM tell with their songs are poetic and full of metaphors that are open to interpretation, possibly offering interesting social critiques or referring to issues of a more metaphysical level (Sleep is Wrong could be addressing the issue of a society working themselves to death, or it could be about understanding the concept of death itself). And of course, since everything about SGM is absurd, so are their apparent backstories and artistic statements. But they are absurd in the same way that the best kind of fiction is absurd. You can read stories about the (most likely) fictional origin of their band name in interviews and on their wikipedia page. Spoilers: it involves Dadaism, Futurists and a fictional newspaper press.
Being their debut, as impressive as it is, it's still SGM's first album and there are some flaws that disappear with later releases. I find the song 1997 (Tonight We're Gonna Party Like It's...) sounds a bit too Nu-Metal-ish for my taste, even with its insanely progressive instrumentation. Most people are turned off from SGM's sound because it can have a crazy circus music vibe, and to them perhaps SGM's eccentricities come across as being somewhat contrived. But the vibe they give, as psychotic as it is, can't really be a gimmick... because it's their entire sound. Everything the band does and plays sounds insane. This is just what you have to expect when listening to SGM, otherwise it would be best to steer clear. But if you're in the mood for something completely out of left field, and music that requires your full and undivided attention, then be sure to give SGM a listen.
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