Its noit quite chillout. Not quite sure what it is.
Chilled out isn't quite the word here. I don't want to invoke images of Royksopp or Delerium or anything like that, but there's something very stoned about this album. The opening track doesn't quite portray this fact, with a reasonably heavy opening and whizzy distortion but about 40 seconds into the song, we begin to hear the slightly more dulcet tones, with piano accompaniment and acoustic guitar work. There seems to be a slight, almost Indian-style meandering towards the end of the track.
'Season of the Sun' follows the theme with slow, tinny, electric guitar, building with a much louder and deeper electric a minute in. The riff's evoke a slow, almost, but not quite melancholic feeling. The piano is there again, and by the time the vocals arrive, I'm already lying back in my chair, poised to fall over. The sound is enveloping, and the distortion on the guitar lends such a dramatic and sharp edge, with a hint of depression - almost Massive Attack-like in places.
'Guest Room' is a lovely piano piece; again, somewhat depressive but pretty at the same time. Not exactly rocking however. 'The Hand That Draws' opens with some dark, moody, string ambience and echoing vocals creating a very gothic picture although the tempo and rage picks right up towards the end. It isn't quite as heavy or powerful as perhaps I'd like however. The vocals certainly don't match and neither do the levels of beauty between sections. It's certainly not quite the same as the transition in Led Zepplin's 'Stairway to Heaven' but you can perhaps see where the thought was going.
'Smoke and Pain' is certainly closer to it's name in terms of sound. It is meaner, and somewhat heavier for this band but still retaining its 'stoner' sound. The distorted, almost jazz sounding solo make for an slightly annoying sound but in the end, it doesn't last too long or detract too much from the sound.
Throughout this album there is a good mix of piano and keyboards. Certain track rely totally on said instruments and bear no resemblance to rock in the slightest. 'In Your Time' is another such track, which serves to pretty much turn me off. 'Jackyl' is similar but is an entirely acoustic number. 'Kliminz' serves to show off the bass and string instrument skill of the musicians and is, again, a heartfelt but non-rock number.
This album has its rock moments and these are great in their quiet and soulful nature. The remaining songs fail to convey anything significant on their own, expect a feeling of relaxation. It's too tame in places to be considered rock and perhaps not cool enough to be thought of as chill-out; its too square, too boring. But, if you fancy falling over in your chair due to a relaxation malfunction, this may be for you.