Oakland's SLEEPYTIME GORILLA MUSEUM represents the line in the sand. Most of the hack music writers won't get them, same as they didn't get NEUROSIS, VOIVOD, WATCHTOWER and other forward-thinking heavies until the bands gained worldwide recognition. But it's so much easier to dismiss something as pretentious than to actually wrap your mind around something fresh, isn't it?

For "In Glorious Times", the band continues to hone their craft away from the often unwieldy and overlong improvisations of past efforts. Like most bands spreading their wings, a familiar sound may spring up here or there, but it disappears like a wisp of smoke in seconds. Carla Kihlstedt's bizarre vocals in "Angle of Repose" zig and zag like an old SUGAR CUBES song. A few seconds of the ridiculous drum/bass interplay in "The Widening Eye" recall MIND OVER FOUR or RUSH, while the horns in the same track scream ZAPPA.

But the overall impression is a sleaker, more obtuse SGM than anyone has heard to date. Intros swell into crashing drum/bass battles. The harmonized choir of five band members performs vocal gymnastics against horns, angular keys, and shrieking violins. Moments like the tinkling piano in the KING DIAMOND-ish fanfare of "Puppet Show" and the Mike Patton-ish groove in "Helpless Corpses Enactment" over lyrics like "Vah! Suvarn Sur! Scatter brand to the reneweller of the sky, thou who agnitest!" must be heard for full impact to be realized. While the disc does include several songs over the 7-minute mark, there aren't any tracks that could be tagged longwinded; every note seems necessary to swell the drama from gentle coos to mindblowing jams. It's the combination of 70s prog-style smarts, a flair for theatrics, and chilling modern macabre that make up SGM's disturbing originality.

Finally - the disc's packaging is exquisite, including full lyrics, explanations for the lyrics, and lots of chilling cartoons and photos. Chalk up another victory for The End Records, and don't expect to 'get' SGM on the first listen. Fans DRUNK HORSE and HOLLENTHON - thou needest this disc.

- Marchman

OFFICIAL SITE: www.sleepytimegorillamuseum.com

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