Team Sleep: Woodstock Sessions - Vol 4

Chino Moreno resurrects his art-rock endeavour

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Team Sleep, Deftones frontman Chino Moreno’s art-rock side project, released a captivating if fragmentary debut in 2005, blending gauzey textures, thistly melodies and shimmery flecks of electronica into lush, edgeless dreampop.

After a 10-year hibernation, the band return with their follow-up, entirely written, performed and recorded in front of a live studio audience over the course of two days.

The result is a balanced and arresting clutch of pillowy shoegaze and rangey experimentalism that largely succeeds. Highlights such as Formant and (Ever) Foreign Flag showcase watery textures and lush atmospherics converging with dramatic intensity. Others, such as Your Skull Is Red and Blvd. Nights, offer expanded and more fully realised updates of tracks from the debut. There’s no abundance of variance here, and while abbreviated cuts like No feel more like unformed ideas than distinct works, Team Sleep’s sophomore effort marks a broad step forward. With more than two days’ studio time, one can only imagine what they could accomplish.

Joe Daly

Hailing from San Diego, California, Joe Daly is an award-winning music journalist with over thirty years experience. Since 2010, Joe has been a regular contributor for Metal Hammer, penning cover features, news stories, album reviews and other content. Joe also writes for Classic Rock, Bass Player, Men’s Health and Outburn magazines. He has served as Music Editor for several online outlets and he has been a contributor for SPIN, the BBC and a frequent guest on several podcasts. When he’s not serenading his neighbours with black metal, Joe enjoys playing hockey, beating on his bass and fawning over his dogs.