Sleepy Buildings will serve to fuel the dichotomy amongst
the Gathering's fans: those who appreciate the increasingly ambient and subtle direction in which the Dutch outfit moved with
If_Then_Else and
Souvenirs, and detractors who believe the band peaked with the doomy, metallic, and melodic strains of
Mandylion and
Nighttime Birds. So this collection, recorded live at the LUX Theatre in Nijmegen, Holland, reinterprets older songs -- three of them, "The Mirror Waters," "Stonegarden," and "Like Fountains" reaching as far back as
Always and
Almost a Dance, released prior to siren singer
Anneke van Giersbergen's recruitment -- minus electric guitars and with an increased emphasis on piano and keyboards. The most attractive aspect of
Sleepy Buildings is its showcasing of
Van Giersbergen's heavenly voice, which is front and center in the mix, although some lengthy "trip rock" instrumental excursions dominate a few tracks (including "Travel" and "Red Is a Slow Colour"). Completists should also note that the piano ballad title track is previously unreleased, even if it feels incomplete arrangement-wise, and is almost needlessly stripped-down. Thus
Sleepy Buildings fits nicely into
the Gathering's latter-day, less-metallic catalog, although critics may find the title all too appropriate. ~ John Serba