SLEEPWALKERS LOCAL
SLEEPWALKERS LOCAL
Sleepwalkers Local 242 has been lurking in the shadows for some time now. There
have been sporadic gigs but little else for the world to hear. Now, the sounds that
have been building for years are starting to spill out into the daylight. “Things We
Put Our Friends Through” is what feels like 12 inches of vinyl album dreaminess
distilled down to fifteen minutes on a 3 inch CD-r. The results are sublime. One man
laying out a flirty little symphony. Miniature scores, entire films scored in minutes
really, presented here.
“Dipsomania” knocks me out every time I hear it. There’s a simple and rough guitar
line that drives the song while another guitar, or maybe its keyboards, plays over.
The whole thing has an echo of remorse, regret… I suppose the title is apt for the
vibe presented. As is the album title. “Things We Put Our Friends Through”. Each
song feels like an ode to bad choice, or the accompanying music for realizing the
enormity of your poor choices…Again, regret. Remorse. This is all grand speculation
of course. It’s really just music. But marvelous music at that. “Feet Planted Firmly,
Head Down” gets jarring. Layers of distortion threaten to bury the synth line and the
loping guitar but in the end the melody carries through. Packaged in a light blue
painted slim jewel case, it feels dreamy the minute it sets in your hands. Phantom
Limb is a new imprint based out of Los Angeles that has just debuted with three
really strong releases. Surely a label to keep your eye on, each of the three releases,
this one included, is stellar.
And then its over. Less than 20 minutes. But it feels like so much longer. Entire days
of clinical and medicinal suppression...self-imposed of course...all crammed onto
three inches of shiny plastic......good morning to you....... 9/10 -- Adam Richards (20
February, 2007)
have been sporadic gigs but little else for the world to hear. Now, the sounds that
have been building for years are starting to spill out into the daylight. “Things We
Put Our Friends Through” is what feels like 12 inches of vinyl album dreaminess
distilled down to fifteen minutes on a 3 inch CD-r. The results are sublime. One man
laying out a flirty little symphony. Miniature scores, entire films scored in minutes
really, presented here.
“Dipsomania” knocks me out every time I hear it. There’s a simple and rough guitar
line that drives the song while another guitar, or maybe its keyboards, plays over.
The whole thing has an echo of remorse, regret… I suppose the title is apt for the
vibe presented. As is the album title. “Things We Put Our Friends Through”. Each
song feels like an ode to bad choice, or the accompanying music for realizing the
enormity of your poor choices…Again, regret. Remorse. This is all grand speculation
of course. It’s really just music. But marvelous music at that. “Feet Planted Firmly,
Head Down” gets jarring. Layers of distortion threaten to bury the synth line and the
loping guitar but in the end the melody carries through. Packaged in a light blue
painted slim jewel case, it feels dreamy the minute it sets in your hands. Phantom
Limb is a new imprint based out of Los Angeles that has just debuted with three
really strong releases. Surely a label to keep your eye on, each of the three releases,
this one included, is stellar.
And then its over. Less than 20 minutes. But it feels like so much longer. Entire days
of clinical and medicinal suppression...self-imposed of course...all crammed onto
three inches of shiny plastic......good morning to you....... 9/10 -- Adam Richards (20
February, 2007)
Some kind words from the people at Foxy D
And some really thoughtful words from Animal Psi
Here’s a new theme for you: a Director’s Series; releases by label-heads. Following
the recent Lanterns and Una releases by First Person boss Andy, today’s feature
comes from (VxPxC)’s Grant Capes, proud new father of Phantom Limb Recordings
and the impressionist behind Sleepwalkers Local 242. The 3” CDr ‘Things We Put Our
Friends Through’ is a sockful of eight 2- and 3- minute guitar-centered miniatures
ranging from Tarentel (“Period of Grace”) to Mogwai (title track, “On Drowning”) –
which I realize is not much distance – to Burning Star Core (“Feet Planted Firmly,
Head Down”); outlier “Vox Sutra” is that and more: distorted breaths above a droning
pitch, huff-boxing a trip-hop beat. My favorite is “Tempted by Promises”, which
follows a familiar set of folk-rock chords into unfamiliar territory, spooked then
pushed through a fuzzy-haze distortion like a Neil Young or Jason Molina solo seen
in the waves off hot asphalt. There’s not a lot left to be said but there is beauty in
simplicity. Disc comes in a plastic clamshell with a thick, Keroppi-cute insert, the
whole deal sprayed like puffy white clouds.
Here’s a new theme for you: a Director’s Series; releases by label-heads. Following
the recent Lanterns and Una releases by First Person boss Andy, today’s feature
comes from (VxPxC)’s Grant Capes, proud new father of Phantom Limb Recordings
and the impressionist behind Sleepwalkers Local 242. The 3” CDr ‘Things We Put Our
Friends Through’ is a sockful of eight 2- and 3- minute guitar-centered miniatures
ranging from Tarentel (“Period of Grace”) to Mogwai (title track, “On Drowning”) –
which I realize is not much distance – to Burning Star Core (“Feet Planted Firmly,
Head Down”); outlier “Vox Sutra” is that and more: distorted breaths above a droning
pitch, huff-boxing a trip-hop beat. My favorite is “Tempted by Promises”, which
follows a familiar set of folk-rock chords into unfamiliar territory, spooked then
pushed through a fuzzy-haze distortion like a Neil Young or Jason Molina solo seen
in the waves off hot asphalt. There’s not a lot left to be said but there is beauty in
simplicity. Disc comes in a plastic clamshell with a thick, Keroppi-cute insert, the
whole deal sprayed like puffy white clouds.
Dreamlands - new cd-r release on the House of Alchemy
Finally starting to get things to sound the way I wanted them to sound, and
all thanks go to Adam Richards for putting this sprawling monster out. It
takes a lot of trust to let other people do whatever they want to, and Adam
is definitely the best man in the CD-r trade today.
Finally starting to get things to sound the way I wanted them to sound, and
all thanks go to Adam Richards for putting this sprawling monster out. It
takes a lot of trust to let other people do whatever they want to, and Adam
is definitely the best man in the CD-r trade today.