'13 Blues for Thirteen Moons' is a great album, do not get me wrong, but it's undergone a shift in sound which at times forgets how important this band's dynamics are, trading it in for rock and bombast, while at the same time, not quite being complete enough songs to leave the listener totally satisfied by the end of each song (which, lets face it, could all be a mini-EP if they so wished) unlike the fairly underrated, Godspeed swan-song 'Yanqui U.X.O'.

The first half of this album is terribly guilty of this. After 12 tracks of atonal noise (a feat first performed nu-metal maestros Korn on their 'Follow the Leader' record) the first two real songs: '1,000,000 Died To Make This Sound'/'13 Blues for Thirteen Moons' more or less follow the exact same path. They both start quiet, build-and-build-and-build, reach boiling point, and then when the heat is taken off, simmer into mere anti-climactic obscurity ('13 Blues...' actually does this twice). It's a shame, because both these songs have segments that are very noteworthy; '1,000,000 Died...' actually incorporates RIFF into it's primary sound, while '13 Blues...' has a fantastically hard-hitting 1-2 punch rhythm section driving through it. Unfortunately though, both these songs just 'go quiet' and aren't as successfully executed as when performed live.

The second half however, is a vast improvement, and suggests a lot of fight left in this band yet. It's not even like its a radical move away from the first half, it's just the songs are written properly (because when you're trying to achieve a more immense sound really you need the song structures to back it up) and better. 'Black Waters Blowed/Engine Broke Blues' simply builds itself properly, and makes full use of it's crescendo when those crashing drums come in on top of this Efrim's vocals - although noticeably more confident on this record, are used to better effect as he passionately croons/caterwauls his way through this and the excellent 'Blind Blind Blind'.

And what a finale that is. To be honest, this song rivals Explosions or Mono at their finest, except there are vocals here and they are used to perfection. Efrim has a complete blast here as he goes for his brilliantly executed poetry here; 'We want punks in the palace/cuz punks' got the loveliest dreams' and this song, apparently about how being drunk with your friends can be "the greatest fucking feeling in the world", builds in a brilliantly weighted way, finally gives a climax promised pretty much from the beginning of the record, and then fades on a heart warming, passionate vocal break; 'Some Hearts Are True'.

So, it is an enjoyable record, but it is too little too late for it to be the masterpiece that some publications have been calling it. The brand new material the band showcased at their show in London last week was a glimmer of hope, and perhaps there is still a lot of life left in this band.