Inspiration to scores of Mid-Atlantic post-hardcore bands (arguably second only to Fugazi in terms of regional reach), Sleepytime Trio from Harrisonburg, VA, were one of the best bands of the mid-to-late '90s, their live shows exercises in controlled chaos and this mostly studio album a picture imperfect representation of not only who they were, but what their offshoots, including Engine Down, Milemarker and Rah Brahs, would be.

Sleepytime Trio's sound was perfectly suited to the basement shows they so often played: drummer Jonathan Fuller loud, precise and malleable to the band's tumbling rhythms; the vocals alternately haunted and horrifyingly plaintive (Ben Davis, Drew Ringo and David NeSmith all sang); bassist Davis carrying the entire melodic load on his four strings; and guitarist Ringo scraping out mid-fret counterpoints that rotated between harmony and cacophony. But in sweaty basements (where I saw the band many times), the elements coalesced thanks to shitty sound systems (PA? What's a PA?) that resulted in a piercing combination of heavy bass, propulsive drums and, somewhere off in the muddled distance, a solitary scream. (The live version of "Jesus Extract" illustrates this affect terribly — which is to say perfectly.)

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