Team Sleep was Chino Moreno's first major side project, and the ones that came after were almost exactly like it—well-intentioned, admirably executed, and intermittently interesting amplifications of a trace element in Deftones' music. But upon the celebration of Team Sleep's 10th anniversary this past May, the band's only record, released in 2005 on a now-defunct major label, has taken on a Wet Hot American Summer-style, retroactive "wow" factor, both for its mere existence and the subsequent accomplishments of its already impressive cast. It now serves as the common link between Rufus Wainwright, Pinback, Ex Hex, Death Grips, Hole, and Faith No More (Melissa Auf der Maur and Mike Patton's contributions never made the final cut). That alone justifies revisiting Team Sleep, which is the ostensible purpose of Woodstock Sessions, Vol. 4. An intimate collection of album tracks and unreleased material recorded in front of a small live audience, the result is much more cohesive record than Team Sleep. It is also a less compelling one.
Mary Timony, Rob Crow, and producer Greg Wells (responsible for the Wainwright and, um, Mika connection) did not make it to upstate New York. It's just as well. Team Sleep was slapdash by default—it was nearly 10 years in the making and reconfigured after its planned 2003 release was scuttled by a leak. Downsizing the personnel rips out much of the inert stuffing that padded out Team Sleep's nearly hourlong runtime—Timony's solo cut ("Tomb of Liegia") was proof enough that any vocalist can sound fairly anonymous doing Sneaker Pimps-style deadpan trip-hop, while the explosive anti-chemistry on "King Diamond" showed how much Moreno can embarrass himself without actually rapping. And while Zach Hill's participation technically qualifies Team Sleep as a retroactive Deftones/Death Grips supergroup, his metallic, skittering breakbeats mostly worked against Moreno rather than with him—the Deftones songs after which Team Sleep was modeled ("Teenager", "Lucky You") tended to be muted, free of distorted guitars and all the better for it.
Hill has been replaced by Gil Sharone—a former member of the Dillinger Escape Plan who already has experience replacing a percussive maniac in a high-profile, alt-rock side project due to his time in +44. He ably recreates Hill's parts, but the wise selection of Team Sleep cuts ensure this is meant to be a more traditional rock record. Prior highlights "(Ever) Foreign Flag" and "Princeton Review" unlock themselves from a machinistic grid and take on an airy, major-key expansiveness that Moreno never quite achieved with Palms, even if they were focused on doing just that. Likewise, "Blvd. Nights" is angular, angry, and alive, while "Live From the Stage" stretches out to become the massive show closer it never had the chance to be.
While the Mo' Wax-worship on Team Sleep can be now seen as both its definitive feature and inherent flaw, the same could be said of Moreno's vocals on Woodstock Session**s. No matter the context, as long as Moreno is singing, you will be forced to compare it to Deftones. Dude can't help it—he's one of the most immediately identifiable stylists in mainstream rock from the past two decades, his vaporous, wavering melodies nearly impossible to trace and usually conveying a highly identifiable mix of sensuality and menace. This is even more true of Team Sleep than it was in ††† and Palms, so even the best work here ends up sounding like a weakened version of "Tempest" that wouldn't be capable of soundtracking Furious 7.
Such is the nature of Moreno's non-Deftones work: Moreno's outside projects do one thing, whereas Deftones are successful synthesists, playing up dynamic contrasts that come off as innovations. Woodstock Sessions is the third Moreno-fronted record to be released since Koi No Yokan, and it's the first where a new Deftones album is within view—though the when is unclear, they had promised a September due date back in March, and they officially finished recording about a month ago. As such, it's hard to feel disappointed in Woodstock Sessions or view it as a distraction. It just confirms what we keep finding out about Moreno's music outside of his main gig—it sounds either too much like Deftones or not enough unlike them.
