SLEEPY BUILDINGS - A SEMI ACOUSTIC EVENING

The songs on this album are sustantially stripped down or re-worked, but still maintain nothing of their power. Although they have chosen mainly for their more mellow songs (Amity, Marooned, My Electricity), the ones that are not have indeed mainly lost their rough edges. This results in a bunch of songs that reach a much higher level of emotion and sensitivity and to me that is a great thing.

No heavy and catchy guitarfiffs on this one. It are mainly the drums that gives a more louder/heavy sound to the specific songs. The use of guitar is on the contrary always as guidance and seldom as solo. This results in a effect in which we can hear much more piano/keyboard work and ofcourse the tremendous voice of Anneke. I would have been really interested in a continuance of If Then Else, which is so spiced with orchestral errangements. I think that this would really make a great contribution to this album as we'll.

For the ones that are interested in their heavy stuff (Strange Machines, In Motion, Nighttime Birds, Libery Bell, Great Ocean Road (damn I miss the Therimin) and Black Light District) better avoid this album, as it really is a sit down event and by far not like their usual live performances that truly can rock hard from time to time.

With this album The Gathering has moved more close to progressive Rock than ever before.

All in all, another great album of this band that sounds too good to come from The Netherlands.