I was actually looking forward to listening to in a safe place by The Album Leaf after such a visceral roof raising decibel assault to my senses. I knew the music would be tranquil so there was no surprise as the mellow soundscape began to unfurl like the flag of Iceland. The next track began and it was more of the same, but the textures were already wearing thin and getting blander by the second. I began to have doubts if I could even get through all ten cuts. The dull instrumentals made me imagine what the band Tortoise would sound like if all of their soul had been squished out. I'm sure I'm probably missing the point since The Album Leaf is all about the meditative Sunday afternoon state, but John Tesh is more rock and roll than this. Instead of producing enlightened abstract feelings on truth and beauty, I found myself getting into a peeved torpor as I strained harder to hear why so many people think this Musaked out music is so great, so hard in fact that my ears just gave up - they boarded up and left town before the hurricane of boredom took them over completely.

I hit the shuffle button in a panic hoping that the Comets On Fire could reach my ears with its glorious noise. Dimly I registered something, perhaps merely the memory of massive array of drums, guitars, and analog synthesizer drone, but even they could not restore my hearing. Growing despondent I was about to give up, when the press kit fell from the stereo console into my lap and it came to me with flash! This holy talisman of paper that the kind folks of Sub Pop included with the Comets On Fire album held the key - I bet they knew the effect The Album Leaf would have upon an unsuspecting reviewer - with the line about "yesteryear's rock and roll" and I knew what would save me. I reached for the quintessential Sub Pop release and within a few notes my hearing was restored by the power of Superfuzz Bigmuff by Mudhoney.