I always find solo/side projects quite interesting in the world of Metal.  Quite often people are surprised by the various musical ambitions that their favourite artist may have. You just need look at bands like PUCIFER, SCARS ON BROADWAY or THE DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT to see how different things can get. THOMAS GILES is one of these brilliant examples of what can happen when someone is allowed to run around wielding their creative sword like a giant phallic conducting baton. This is his second release under the name THOMAS GILES and the debut album "Pulse" was met with a whole bunch of praise so it has some fairly large shoes to fill.  Unlike the Tech-Metal fury that he is known for with BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME this solo project plays out like a slightly deranged polygamous marriage between APHEX TWIN, MUSE and QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE with plenty of arguing over who gets to be the big spoon.

The album opens up with the beautifully glitchy "Wise And Silent" happily bounces through a surreal sound scape that sounds like the kind of things old Casio SA keyboards dream about when they sleep. Perhaps the name of this song says more than it is meant to though as it one of the more interesting tracks on the album simply because of the absence of vocals. Not that the singing on the rest of the album is particularly bad but it certainly changes the dynamics of the songs drastically.  As we move forward the music steeps into Pop-Rock territory and this is where it starts to lose me a little.  MUSE clearly become the dominant force in the relationship and if you close your eyes, you could almost believe that Matt Bellamy is crooning away over a keyboard.  I'm sure for a lot of people this is just what they are looking for but sadly I feel that it is lacking in substance for the most part. The Pop-Rock dips in and out of a dangerously Post-Pop-Punk kind of territory and even seems to flirt with PLACEBO a little.  Any kind of relationship with BRIAN MOLKO is always going to end in streaked mascara and that seems quite likely by the time "Wander Drug" comes on.

The production on the album is very good though and musically I can't really fault the writing or structuring of the songs. They are very good at what they do but unfortunately what they do isn't very nice.  Bad Wolverine quotes aside, there are some pretty decent and moody and atmospheric moments on the album but I don't think they make up for the self-indulgence that is so obviously present throughout this bizarre musical journey.