As it is Maynard James Keenan singing you can't help but feel like it sounds a bit too familiar because his voice is so unique, musically it aims to be in the same place as Tool but "a little shorter and a little neater" so yes, it's Tool with a haircut. The repetitive atmospheric noise is there, Maynard's unique vocal talent is there, the technicalities of Tool is there and the use of guitars to powerfully break in and out of songs is there. The tribal sound mentioned earlier really does get on your tits towards the end of the album and it really reeks of pretentiousness, fair enough the members of this supergroup have all worked to a level where pretentiousness is the last word you'd cast upon them but in this format it just doesn't seem right to credit songs like 'Crimes' where Maynard counts from 1-10. It's hardly lyrical brilliance now is it? Unless it's a vauge metaphor to the 10 Commandments or something, I don't know...

'The Nurse Who Loved Me' is a weird song, which doesn't really fit into the album and it sounds rather like it's aimed to be on a soundtrack to a predictable 'rom-com' with Hugh Grant in. 'Pet' follows afterwards and it's pretty clever to put tracks that contrast so hugley together as you really appreciate the power of 'Pet' as it lays here. But this is one of those albums that just slides past you the first time you listen to it, and the second. Being a Sigur Ros fan I feel that as a person I am patient... but I can't bring myself to appreciate these 12 tracks (yeah, I thought there would be 12 too considering the name!).

Compared to 'Mer De Noms', this is nothing.

Craig Sharp