Sleep Parade are extremely hard to pigeonhole in terms of "genre" or whatever it's called these days. They can be put in the general "new school of Aussie alternative rock" basket with Karnivool, Dead Letter Circus and so on (and they measure up to the bar), but as with any great band in that diverse basket, they're not quite like anything else. They cite Pink Floyd, Nine Inch Nails, Jeff Buckley, Radiohead, Oceansize, The Mars Volta and Opeth as influences, and I'm surprised that Mutemath are not also on that list. The album combines a prog-alt-rock sensibility with fearless use of synths and electronic sounds, and when Sleep Parade are in charge of the fusing, it's as if the two realms were made for each other. And don't panic if you're a conventional rock fan, because a rock band is still essentially what they are.

Things Can Always Change contains all kinds of tracks. Relatively mainstream "pop" songs like "Carry On", "Passengers" and "Open Up" are filled with goodies that are friendly enough for virtually any radio station, and I mean that in the most positive way possible. Epics like "Everyday", "Barriers" and "Weeping Walls" reveal a compositional strength that is simply remarkable. "Underground" is an ambient, electronic-based piece containing a lot of 7/8 time. "All We Are" is an equally atmospheric acoustic trip. And "One Track Mind" combines all of these characteristics brilliantly.

"Minimalist" would be precisely the wrong word to describe this music. It's very layered and very studio-made. The band has three members. Five people sung on the album. Four people played synth. Three people did some drum programming, and the drummer was not one of them. The already legendary Forrester Savell did all three of these things, as well as bringing the whole project together with flawless production.

The band's attention to detail and the care they have taken in writing the music is phenomenal. It seems that not a single note played or sung by anyone on the entire album has slipped through as a result of carelessness or is just there for the sake of being there. Frontman, guitarist and chief lyricist Leigh Davies delivers a passion and honesty that makes the whole thing so human, despite the considerable amount of "artificial sound" going on. Bassist James Livesey adds another dimension with his musical consciousness and subtleties. Drummer Dan Teng is watertight, expressive and intense. Former keyboardist Paul Zubrinich left the band during the making of the album, but you can still hear his contribution on six of the ten tracks (although "Passengers", a track which makes extensive use of the synth as a lead instrument, is not one of them).

Lyrically, the album is pretty much Davies sharing his soul. The basis for the subject matter is his father's struggle with schizophrenia, but the lyrics come across more as contemplation of universal human themes than restrictively specific packages of literal meaning.

Although their music is heavily studio-oriented, and they even use some backing tracks on the stage, rest assured that Sleep Parade are a great live band. Every time I've seen them play, they've given everything to the performance regardless of how many people have or haven't turned up. These guys are going places, many more places than they've already gone, and it's all I can do to advise that you experience the inspired work of art they have created.

Things Can Always Change is out now Australia-wide through Shock Distribution. Check out Sleep Parade's music at their MySpace profile (www.myspace.com/sleepparade) or visit their official forum hosted by OzProg.