Obviously I was going to buy Chevelle's new album, La Gárgola, when it came out last Tuesday. That was a given. I went to the mall, picked it up, took the bus back home, and began to process of a thorough listen...and I was surprised. Was it a pleasant surprise? Maybe not at first. It was Chevelle, but I didn't know if it was the lush and organic-sounding Chevelle that I knew and loved. This incarnation of the band's music is familiar, closer to their Wonder What's Next and This Type of Thinking (Could Do Us In) days, but there's something quite different about it at the same time. It's...it's...mature. Grown-up, even. It has traces of Tool and some other progressive metal mixed in with their usual alternative rock, and though it took me a few days to really get into it, once I did...I was in for life.
"One Ocean" is probably the closest song to their old styles, which may be why it stood out to me early on, but you can hear the difference here too. Now it's a little darker and mysterious, but in the chorus I can hear the way things used to be, though it's closer to the minimalist approach of Hats Off To The Bull instead of the lush power from Sci-Fi Crimes. We still get lyrical power, flawless instruments and vocals from Mr. Loeffler that pull at my heartstrings anymore. Everyone has to grow up one day, and Chevelle has become quite charming and mature this time around. Hats off to them for changing things up, because every one of their albums brings something new to the table, and perhaps a complete listen-through of everything is in order now.
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