Sleepy Sun - Maui Tears (Dine Alone Records)
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| Sleepy Sun - Maui Tears |
Release Date: 14th March 2014
Poor yourself a drink. Roll
yourself a fat one. Find the comfiest chair in your house. Lock the doors.
Close the curtains. Pop on your best headphones and then let the needle drop.
This new LP from San Franciscan quintet Sleepy Sun is a delight that needs
savouring so give it the time it deserves. I mean, you wouldn't wolf down a
gourmet meal or do shots of fifty year old single malt would you? I should hope
not, have some class. I'm listening to this digitally but imagining the crackle
of the limited edition turquoise and red double vinyl as I let the swarthy
guitars of 'The Lane' wash over me and the gentle strumming of 'Words' calms
the stress inside of me. The prog rock tendencies of 'Everywhere Waltz' help
uncover a mystical world of unusual creatures and temptingly dangerous sirens.
Then again, 'Outside' sees the listener succumb to the otherworldly delights
and slip in to a state of blissfully ignorant abandon while '1132' is a joyous Black
Sabbath-esque piece of distorted noise and sensation.
'Thielbar' (me neither) sounds
like it was recorded in a deep and mystical cave where the fragments of light
dance on the wet rocks and strangely alluring booming noises emanate from the
darkest recesses of the craggy cavern. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that a
band who's album cover features a man with a series of triangles for a face veer
towards the more outlandish end of the rock spectrum, but it's almost refreshing
to hear how much time and space the music is given to grow on this album.
'Slowdown', for example is a breathy, sprawling Pink Floyd meets Genesis
(Gabriel era) type of tune that has no discernible melody but feels like a hundred
familiar and unfamiliar emotions surrounding you all at once. This bleeds
effortlessly in to 'Galaxy Punk' which sounds like a tune that could be played
equally well backwards or forwards such is the infectious quality of the groove
and warped texture of the vocals. Final track and album title 'Maui Tears' is,
presumably, some sort of surfing reference but even if it isn't it's just as
trippy as the rest of the album. There you have it, you've got your
instructions and nine tracks of outlandishly delicious expansive rock music to
enjoy. Not bad for a Wednesday, eh?
More information: https://www.facebook.com/SleepySun?fref=ts
Live Dates:
7th March - Horseshoe Tavern, Toronto
8th March - Shelter, Detroit
10th March - Schuba's Tavern, Chicago
11th March - Turf Club, St Paul
12th March - The Aquarium, Fargo
13th March - Union Music Hall, Winnipeg
14th March - O'Hanlons, Regina
15th March - Vangellis, Saskatoon
16th March - Wunderbar, Edmonton
18th March - Broken City, Calgary
19th March - Habitat, Kelowna
20th March - Biltmore Cabaret, Vancouver
21st March - Garibaldi Lift Company, Whistler
22nd March - Lucky Bar, Victoria
23rd March - The Shakedown, Bellingham
24th March - Sunet Tavern, Seattle
25th March - Holocene, Portland
27th March - The Chapel, San Francisco
28th March - Think Tank Gallery, Los Angeles
12th April - Rotonde at Botanique, Brussels
13th April - Paradiso Upstairs, Amsterdam
14th April - The Hope, Brighton
15th Aril - Corsica Studios, London
16th April - Deaf Institute, Manchester
17th April - Broadcast, Glasgow
18th April - Detestival, Sheffield
19th April - Instant Karma Festival, Oostende
20th April - Doornroosje, Nijmegen
20th April - Paaspop, Schijndel
22nd April - Hafenklang, Hamburg
23rd April - UT Connewitz, Leipzig
24th April - Desert Fest, Berlin
25th April - Club Manufaktur, Schorndorf
26th April - Queensday Festival, Venlo
27th April - Viadukt, Zurich
28th April - Le Point Ephemere, Paris