Entomology is quite a fascinating study. Thousands of organisms breathe our air, eat our food, and reside in our homes, yet we are sometimes completely unaware of them. In fact insects are mistaken as horrid creatures, while in fact they are somewhat beautiful and amazing. They can range from the size of speck to the palm of your hand and the amount of detail and design is incredible for such small space and it is mind boggling how so many organs can be fit into a quarter inch life form. In fact, we can learn alot from our little pesky neighbors of this vast sphere. They have good work ethics; they co-operate, and most importantly, strong willed. In case you didn't know, it has been proven impossible for the bumblebee to fly. The strength of the wings is not sufficient enough to lift an out of proportion and heavy body above the ground. Yet somehow it does fly. In short, it’s a miracle.
This album is no less interesting than Entomology and has some ties to our little friends. The songs are beautifully crafted and much detail and effort went into them. Many instruments are arranged and the compositions can be complex, but this album shouldn't work. It has the weirdest and most discordant choice of instruments ever. Neither of them would compliment the other if someone else was playing it but Sleepytime Gorilla Museum pull it off. The vocals are too deep and to be fitting with heavy music and sound like an 'ol country singer. The compositions are too long to be accessible but yet they are just as engrossing as 3 minute top 40 hit, but the strength, determination, and guts to write such strange and different music displayed by this band makes this music listenable and enjoyable to the most joyous extent.
Entomology is such a great subject to base an album around.
Of Natural History has a unifying theme of the earth, insects, and technology and the atmosphere of this album is amazing. The lyrics can be hard to decipher and are sometimes downright bizarre, but some of the songs have some noticeable meaning.
FC: The Freedom Club is about the effects of technology on our society and how it has corrupted our lives. Which is connected to nature and all that jive.
The 17 Year Cicada is an instrumental track purely made of up insect sounds and the hidden track on the album continues the bug noises. Humor is inserted every now and then with excerpts from hillbilly conversations and lightens the mood for an otherwise dark album. This album doesn't make you feel good. The theme of nature isn't a joyous praise of God's creation, but a chilling observation of the life around us. Never has an insect seemed so and important and freighting before.
Of Natural History is just like wiping your face with a towel on the same spot you wiped your butt with. It takes you a while to figure out what you’re listening to and it’s a bit of a surprise.
Hymn To The Morning Star seems very unexpected. It begins with very tension building guitar feedback and freighting sound clips of dogs barking and growling. Though it takes you by surprise and the song takes off in a very soothing, almost lullaby like song. The lead singer's voice is so deep and versatile. He is pretty much a deeper, more adult Mike Patton. His voice can be striking and angry. His snarls demand your attention and create an angry mood. The lady voice featured on this album is quite different. It is haunting and yet beautiful. In
Phthisis her voice creates an eerie atmosphere and makes you uncomfortable. It's almost flawless how she executes her singing.
This album is called Avant-Garde for no reason. The vocals as mentioned are very strange and the instrument work is odd. The guitar riffs (if any) are not your average metal, they can be discordant and not your regular "chugga chugga". The song arrangements are long and can be very spastic. When the metal-ish parts happen everything goes berserk. The snarls and growls enter your head, the guitars leave you breathless, and the various other instruments make you feel perplexed. This album is very powerful on its heavier side. The lighter side of the things can be eerie and hypnotic. The beginning of
Babydoctor has both the woman and man singing in unison over a quiet xylophone and it feels like you've entered space. The balance of these two sides makes this album never a boring listen.
Continuing on the bizarre issue, many people might find this album un-listenable. The songs can sometimes be downright creepy and make you feel very uncomfortable.
The Donkey Headed Adversary Of Humanity Opens The Discussion has a very scary intro and the lyrics can create unrest too. "Death by worm, death by sparrow, death by (insert animal name.)" Many people may be turned off by the instrument choice and odd riffs etc. A wide array of winds, percussion, and horns along with your regular rock band instruments can make some weird combinations. This album should be definitely not be approached as a rock or metal album. It's much harder to digest than regular music. I advise staying away from this if you have never listened to Avant-Garde before.
So how does this album hold up to other Avant-Garde bands? SGM kill most of the competition. They know what they're doing and aren't being odd for the sake of being odd. Their compositions are more music than weird noise (Mr. Bungle falls victim to this) and have great lyrics and a nice little theme going on too. If anything should be qualified as best Avant-Garde album of last year, this would be it.
As stated on the album's cover "What does man's best friend want from us?" "Does the future contain wood?" and various other questions man has pondered on for many a moon. But the question always present in my mind is "how does the bumblebee fly?” The only answer I can think of: because it can.
Of Natural History is a miracle to the avant-garde world.
