Team Sleep
By Kevin Wierzbicki

The head snoozer for Team Sleep is Chino Moreno, best known for his role with his other band, the Deftones. Deftones fans need to heed this advisement: this is not Deftones-lite. Team Sleep is not about fist pumping, singing/screaming along or dancing on top of your seat. Rather, Team Sleep is about staying snug in your seat, hopefully of the super comfy warm and fuzzy variety. The most strenuous thing you want to do while listening to Team Sleep is reach for the smoking device or a bottle of libation. Those things will surely enhance the already narcotic effect that Chino and his buddies have conjured up for this side project.

I think my opinion of Team Sleep will end up matching the opinion of the masses. Musically it is without fault. Moreno and his cohorts, guitarist Todd Wilkinson, bassist Rick Verrett, drummer Zach Hill (Hella) and turntable/effects man Crook have created a very dense, lush sound to trip out to. But their journey to never-never land just doesn’t have enough of a thrill to it to induce repeated listening. Sort of like, if there are many roads to get you to where you’re going; you won’t complain about having taken this one. But next time you’ll take a different route. There is one absolutely stunning stop along the way when Mary Timony (Helium) takes a vocal turn on “Tomb of Liegia,” an otherworldly tale of murder. Timony has gone out on an abbreviated tour with Team Sleep in the past---too bad she doesn’t play a larger part in this recording.

Team Sleep
Label:  Maverick
Rating: 
Release Date: 5-10-05

Tracks:
Ataraxia
Ever
Your Skull is Red
Princeton Review
Blvd. Knights
Delorian
Our Ride to the Rectory
Tomb of Liegia
Elizabeth
Staring at the Queen
Ever Since WW1
King Diamond
Live from the Stage
Paris Arm
11^11

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