Review Summary: Sleep Featuring Al Cisneros!
Between the latest efforts from Neurosis and Mastodon, we’ve seen some interesting cases in how the losses of iconic band members in long-running outfits can be navigated. Sleep’s fifth installment is but another example due to the surprise departure of co-founder Matt Pike with guitarist Bubba Dupree in his place and Melvins/Shrinebuilder drummer Dale Crover rounding things out. While I’ve largely gotten over the shock of these changes in the time leading up to Hempispheres’ release, the execution is still rather questionable even when judged on its own merits.
Each of Sleep’s albums has a more distinct identity than what their status as the Sabbath worship ringleaders would suggest, but this is more like an Al Cisneros solo album that couldn’t commit all the way to a proper rebrand. His mantric chants have never felt this upfront in a mix before on any of his past projects while his bass playing often dominates the proceedings at the other players’ expense. Even the talk of this essentially being ‘OM with guitars’ sits weird with me as there’s little in the way of that project’s esoteric aesthetic or grandiosely gradual structuring approach to be found here.
While much has been made of Matt Pike’s absence, the true issues are the resulting dearth of energy and lacking chemistry in the trio’s dynamic. The musicians’ ability to play off each other was the common denominator across Sleep’s past work and while Dupree and Crover are no doubt talented players, there’s just not much of that interplay here in comparison. The guitars don’t offer much beyond supplementary playing while the drums don’t really explore much beyond maintaining steady grooves. They sound almost fearful to do more than merely follow along, never rocking the boat or even wanting to challenge their leader.
This isn’t helped by the songwriting’s seeming determination to never stray from a loose set of mid-tempo rhythms. The opening “Have Spacesuit Will Travel” eases the listener into some solid vibes with an easygoing chug that’s come to be fairly enjoyable only for “The Morrisist” to follow up in a near identical fashion. It adds to a frankly monotonous listening experience where the structures rarely seem to have a vision in mind beyond vague dissociation. I do appreciate the twinkly comedown on the closing “Whole Wheat Mountain/Well Baked,” but even that is just a better executed instance of the songs just letting themselves peter out after a while rather than actually coming to a climax.
Overall, Hempispheres isn’t an atrocious Sleep album so much as a rather bland Al Cisneros album. It makes for an enjoyable enough listening experience as the musicianship is skilled enough and the breezy pacing makes for their most inherently accessible execution since the Holy Mountain days. But at the same time, it borders on redundant as the ‘lol Sabbath and weed’ aesthetic feels more like a corporate mandate and even the monotony was executed with greater purpose on the infamous Dopesmoker. The band’s ever-shifting demeanor makes it easy enough to see what folks could get out of it, but I find myself wishing they’d let the lineup strut its stuff and take more risks going forward.
