I have wanted to review this album for a little while now. I actually had to check a few times to make sure I had not already reviewed it. What a good story.
Anyways, Team Sleep is (one of?) the side project(s) of Chino Moreno, lead singer of the Deftones. The Deftones are one of my favorite bands, so I was pretty interested in this album from when I first heard rumors about it about five years ago. It's been in the works for a while, but the wait is finally over. While some Deftones fans may be expecting a slightly more rocking effort, if you give it a decent chance you will find that Team Sleep's debut album is just very, very good.
The concept of this album is, as I understand it, to explore some of the electronic-rock that the Deftones began to explore on White Pony and went further into on Deftones. It is apparent from the result that there is at least one if not two or three full-length albums in this genre for Chino to bring forth. A nice side effect is that in order to balance this album, I imagine the next Deftones album will be quite rocking, but time will only tell if that is true. But I digress. Team Sleep executes the concept very nicely. Starting with track one, "Ataraxia," you can get a feel for the way that electronica and ambient rock can compliment each other. This first track features an electronic drum pattern that would make Richard D. James (Aphex Twin) proud, as well as a guitar track that is so much more mellow and smooth than the drums. The result is an interesting contrast, which is in a nutshell the point of this album. There are various approaches to the combination of the two genres, as if Team Sleep is probing out which work and which do not. Most of the songs definitely work.
Other than "Ataraxia," which starts the album off with a resounding bang, a few songs should definitely be heard on Team Sleep. Track 2, "Ever," is the first single off the disc and it picks up right where Ataraxia leaves off, albeit with a slightly more toned down approach. "Ever" is one of the first songs leaked from Team Sleep back in 2000 when the project was first being talked about. It's ambient and lush and melodic and wonderful and you should all listen to it ten times. By the time we get up to track 5, "Blvd. Knights," you are probably feeling pretty chill after hearing the first four mellow tracks, but then Team Sleep attacks you with this one. Chino is in full Deftones form throughout this song and everything else has a huge Deftones feel to it, but in the context of Team Sleep it still works incredibly well.
Three of the later tracks on the album really catch my attention every time through Team Sleep. Track 9, "Elizabeth," is probably my favorite track on the album. The vocals are intoxicating and the melodies take me back to sophomore year somehow. I cannot explain it, but the song leaves me with an overwhelming sense of happy nostalgia, which is quite a thing for this sideproject to do. "King Diamond" (track 12) has more oomph to it and is more in the Deftones style, but is also very good. The final track, "11-11," is an excellent capping off to this CD, and it leaves me wanting more Team Sleep. For now my only option is to hit "Play" again and go through the disc one more time.
So Team Sleep is varied without being disjointed, filled with tracks that explore this mesh of genres in a very uncontrived way. The songs are excellent from top to bottom, with some real treats waiting for the listener who traverses the full 15 tracks with open mind and ear. It really is important to start at "Ataraxia" and go straight through to "11-11," and it is also really worth it. I cannot stop listening to Team Sleep, and I'm sure you will not be able to put it down either.
Score: 9/10
Anyways, Team Sleep is (one of?) the side project(s) of Chino Moreno, lead singer of the Deftones. The Deftones are one of my favorite bands, so I was pretty interested in this album from when I first heard rumors about it about five years ago. It's been in the works for a while, but the wait is finally over. While some Deftones fans may be expecting a slightly more rocking effort, if you give it a decent chance you will find that Team Sleep's debut album is just very, very good.
The concept of this album is, as I understand it, to explore some of the electronic-rock that the Deftones began to explore on White Pony and went further into on Deftones. It is apparent from the result that there is at least one if not two or three full-length albums in this genre for Chino to bring forth. A nice side effect is that in order to balance this album, I imagine the next Deftones album will be quite rocking, but time will only tell if that is true. But I digress. Team Sleep executes the concept very nicely. Starting with track one, "Ataraxia," you can get a feel for the way that electronica and ambient rock can compliment each other. This first track features an electronic drum pattern that would make Richard D. James (Aphex Twin) proud, as well as a guitar track that is so much more mellow and smooth than the drums. The result is an interesting contrast, which is in a nutshell the point of this album. There are various approaches to the combination of the two genres, as if Team Sleep is probing out which work and which do not. Most of the songs definitely work.
Other than "Ataraxia," which starts the album off with a resounding bang, a few songs should definitely be heard on Team Sleep. Track 2, "Ever," is the first single off the disc and it picks up right where Ataraxia leaves off, albeit with a slightly more toned down approach. "Ever" is one of the first songs leaked from Team Sleep back in 2000 when the project was first being talked about. It's ambient and lush and melodic and wonderful and you should all listen to it ten times. By the time we get up to track 5, "Blvd. Knights," you are probably feeling pretty chill after hearing the first four mellow tracks, but then Team Sleep attacks you with this one. Chino is in full Deftones form throughout this song and everything else has a huge Deftones feel to it, but in the context of Team Sleep it still works incredibly well.
Three of the later tracks on the album really catch my attention every time through Team Sleep. Track 9, "Elizabeth," is probably my favorite track on the album. The vocals are intoxicating and the melodies take me back to sophomore year somehow. I cannot explain it, but the song leaves me with an overwhelming sense of happy nostalgia, which is quite a thing for this sideproject to do. "King Diamond" (track 12) has more oomph to it and is more in the Deftones style, but is also very good. The final track, "11-11," is an excellent capping off to this CD, and it leaves me wanting more Team Sleep. For now my only option is to hit "Play" again and go through the disc one more time.
So Team Sleep is varied without being disjointed, filled with tracks that explore this mesh of genres in a very uncontrived way. The songs are excellent from top to bottom, with some real treats waiting for the listener who traverses the full 15 tracks with open mind and ear. It really is important to start at "Ataraxia" and go straight through to "11-11," and it is also really worth it. I cannot stop listening to Team Sleep, and I'm sure you will not be able to put it down either.
Score: 9/10