Unexpect - Fables of the Sleepless Empire [2011]

No album in the avantgarde arena is causing more excitement this year than Unexpect's Fables of the Sleepless Empire; and for avid fans of the genre, this is very understandable. It's an erratic, swerving showcase that makes you wonder what will happen next, while still keeping a bit of melody to latch on to. The leads are all over the place, as are the insane vocals, creating some of the least accessible music I've listened to in recent memory. Unfortunately, even though the technical bombast is rather mesmerizing and beauteous, it is this very element that deprives the album of much of its memorability. It passes by like a hypersonic blur, and although that mirage may have seemed attractive, it's difficult to say with certainty what you actually just saw.

The band definitely wins points on the originality front, as there's just not a lot that sounds like this. I probably couldn't name one group off the top of my head. Based on sheer technicality, stripped down to its elements it may resemble a less sane Watchtower (yes, I said less sane). The sound itself feels much more modern and streamlined, with a squeaky clean production almost entirely free from crunch. The purpose here is not heaviness, I suppose: it's more like listening to an elegant circus of misfit players. Plenty of tunes display both the band's talent (and ADD): "Orange Vigilantes" is an eyebrow raising spectacle, and "Unfed Pendulum" is one of the most progressive. The vocals are a mixed bag, however. Female vocalist Leïlindel is pretty great, but there are way too many cheesy spoken parts for my taste. I wish those guys would shut up and let her sing. The lyrics being sung are complete nonsense. Don't bother trying to decode this enigmatic poetry.

Fables of the Sleepless Empire is... well, difficult. It's one of those albums where you keep thinking, "wow, these guys have a lot of talent," but don't realize that you never stopped to really enjoy it once it's over. It definitely has some tremendous skill going for it, but it's just not savory to my perplexed palate. As it gets further along, the songs start to run together as you struggle to catch up. The somber "Words" is probably the track I enjoyed most, simply because it was the most grounded. For fans of this dizzying breed of music, Unexpect's latest is obviously a must have. For those unfamiliar with their music and skeptics of avantgarde, skipping out on hearing this wouldn't be too fatal a move to make.
  
   Overall: 6.5/10 (Fair)