THE GATHERING SLEEPY BUILDINGS
Century Media - 2004
By Rodrigo Escandon
At first, it felt rather odd that a new The Gathering album was coming out on Century Media. The band split with the label for the release of the Black Light District EP and the excellent Souvenirs full-length. When this release was first announced, I thought that it would be on the bands Psychonaut label but it probably deals with some contractual obligations. Well, enough with this label discussion lets go on to the album itself.
Sleepy Buildings has the subtitle of A Semi-Acoustic Evening and that is exactly how this album sounds. Interwoven with acoustic guitars are keyboard melodies and effects as well as some use of electric guitars, hence the subtitle of the album. It was recorded live at the LUX Theatre for two sold-out nights in Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
The Gathering play songs from their entire catalogue ranging from their first albums Always and Almost A Dance to if_then_else. It is actually the first time that this line-up has played songs from those first two releases and those songs are The Mirror Waters, Stonegarden and Like Fountains. Obviously, since this is a semi-acoustic show these songs sound like entirely new compositions and fans of those albums should really take a listen to these new versions. Despite the fact that they are acoustic one can notice that these songs do sound heavier than the rest especially The Mirror Waters.
The remaining 11 songs are divided into 5 from the ambitious but flawed double album How to Measure A Planet?, 2 from both the classic Mandylion as well as the excellent if_then_else and sadly only 1 from the vastly underrated Nightime Birds which is Shrink. There is also one new song Sleepy Buildings which fits perfectly with the rest of the songs but it really isnt that memorable of a song.
In essence, there really isnt anything to complain about the track listing. The songs included sound beautiful in this fashion especially Saturnine and Marooned and the inclusion of the pre-Anneke songs was an excellent idea. But I would have preferred that a couple of songs from How to Measure A Planet? would have been omitted to give room to another song from both Nightime Birds and if_then_else. Songs that I would have really liked to have been included from these albums are Rollercoaster, Shot to Pieces, On Must Surfaces and The May Song.
Another minor point of complaint is the fact that this is supposed to be a live album and besides the Thanks that Anneke says after songs end there is nothing else in terms of band interaction with the fans. Unfortunately this may be the case due to editing and keeping the running time as short as possible in order to fit on one CD. It is a shame that it had to be done though and it could not have hurt adding a minute here of Anneke and the band interacting a little bit more.
Despite these two complaints, Sleepy Buildings is a worthy addition to The Gathering catalogue. It is refreshing to hear older songs in this new manner and it showcases the bands constant ability to evolve and to continue exploring with their musical endeavors.
Century Media Website
The Gathering Official Website
Century Media - 2004
By Rodrigo Escandon
At first, it felt rather odd that a new The Gathering album was coming out on Century Media. The band split with the label for the release of the Black Light District EP and the excellent Souvenirs full-length. When this release was first announced, I thought that it would be on the bands Psychonaut label but it probably deals with some contractual obligations. Well, enough with this label discussion lets go on to the album itself.
Sleepy Buildings has the subtitle of A Semi-Acoustic Evening and that is exactly how this album sounds. Interwoven with acoustic guitars are keyboard melodies and effects as well as some use of electric guitars, hence the subtitle of the album. It was recorded live at the LUX Theatre for two sold-out nights in Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
The Gathering play songs from their entire catalogue ranging from their first albums Always and Almost A Dance to if_then_else. It is actually the first time that this line-up has played songs from those first two releases and those songs are The Mirror Waters, Stonegarden and Like Fountains. Obviously, since this is a semi-acoustic show these songs sound like entirely new compositions and fans of those albums should really take a listen to these new versions. Despite the fact that they are acoustic one can notice that these songs do sound heavier than the rest especially The Mirror Waters.
The remaining 11 songs are divided into 5 from the ambitious but flawed double album How to Measure A Planet?, 2 from both the classic Mandylion as well as the excellent if_then_else and sadly only 1 from the vastly underrated Nightime Birds which is Shrink. There is also one new song Sleepy Buildings which fits perfectly with the rest of the songs but it really isnt that memorable of a song.
In essence, there really isnt anything to complain about the track listing. The songs included sound beautiful in this fashion especially Saturnine and Marooned and the inclusion of the pre-Anneke songs was an excellent idea. But I would have preferred that a couple of songs from How to Measure A Planet? would have been omitted to give room to another song from both Nightime Birds and if_then_else. Songs that I would have really liked to have been included from these albums are Rollercoaster, Shot to Pieces, On Must Surfaces and The May Song.
Another minor point of complaint is the fact that this is supposed to be a live album and besides the Thanks that Anneke says after songs end there is nothing else in terms of band interaction with the fans. Unfortunately this may be the case due to editing and keeping the running time as short as possible in order to fit on one CD. It is a shame that it had to be done though and it could not have hurt adding a minute here of Anneke and the band interacting a little bit more.
Despite these two complaints, Sleepy Buildings is a worthy addition to The Gathering catalogue. It is refreshing to hear older songs in this new manner and it showcases the bands constant ability to evolve and to continue exploring with their musical endeavors.
Century Media Website
The Gathering Official Website
