My earliest band with my best friend began as a wild, raucous endeavor, but gradually became more space-like and proggy. When playing our tapes for friends, we insisted on their full attention in a darkened room, with other enhancements optional but encouraged (we called it “Zar Music”). Therefore it was fun for me to discover PsiloMine Sun, a mysterious musical duo who also create “music that is intended for active listening. Although this music is greatly enhanced on certain chemical compounds, it can still be very immersive no matter what state of mind the listener is in.” The band rightly fears that the “art of listening” is being lost, and they hope to reverse this trend with albums such as their newly released Instrumentality. 

Their stated purpose is to create music for “psychedelic therapy and beyond.” They hope to create music and videos to help manage grief, loss, depression and anxiety, coming out of their music with a greater sense of well-being. They use real instruments which undergo “a lot of granular synthesis.”  They describe their music as “ambient but kinetic, but also containing some catchy melodies.” They’ve designed the album to be played from beginning to end. With all this in mind, I was expecting more of an Eno Ambient-type project, and was surprised to actually encounter dream pop-style song structures along with some folk and Americana. 

“Into The Night” fades in on a wave of synth-like textures, both extended chords and bubbling Moog-like sounds. It reminds me of late nights fiddling with Ham Radio frequencies and how eerie and mysterious that could be. These sounds (without ever totally going away) lead into gently picked guitars playing a lovely, bittersweet chord cycle. The vocals are processed to the point where it’s not easy to decipher any of the lyrics, which may be the point: without the words right in your face, it’s easier for them to seep into one’s subconscious. This track leads without a pause into “Walking Each Other Home” which features synth pads plus animal-like electronic chirps, like a zoo on Mars. Slowly a slap-back beat appears, surrounded by swirling clouds of chords bathed in sweet feedback. The vocal here is slightly less murky, and overall I’d call this track dream pop, with elements of your favorite space-prog bands.

“Fables” has both a David Bowie-like title and music that recalls the Thin White Duke’s German period. After the first two, it’s nice to have a track with more of a forward drive, perfect for those who are tired of meditating and appreciate a little action. The ending has a bit of that classic weird late-Beatles vibe too.

With “Blood” we’ve moved even further away from the purely meditational model, with a lively trap beat, sweet picked guitars and a pop-inflected lead vocal. Imagine the Byrds even more psychedelic and you’re almost there. “Closer” has a similar vibe, with smartly constructed electric guitars following a paramilitary beat. Here I might point to Radiohead as a base line. Though most of these songs follow their patterns pretty faithfully, I have to say that melodically these guys always deliver the goods. 

“Two Sides One Way” starts very strangely, like an old folk song broadcast from space, then kicks in like Americana played by androids. You hear all the tropes you’d expect but they’re coming at you sideways, seemingly bouncing off metallic baffles. I’m fighting with myself about saying it, but I’m actually hearing a Monkees B-side here. There’s even a twisted banjo and acoustic piano! Given all that, I’d say this is my favorite track of all since I’m not really in the mood to space out. For those who prefer the folkier side of this duo, you can jump ahead to the gorgeous picked guitars and deep textures of “Fall Back.” The title track “Instrumentality” concludes the album, slowing rising with a heartbeat and pulsing synths. The vocals again seem to come from a silver cloud in the sky. it has a perfectly calibrated build from beginning to end, slowly adding layers and levels of intensity. 

There’s much more here than the tracks I’ve highlighted but it’s all consistently rewarding and worth a listen. Recommended!

Become A Fan

James Stringfellow is the artist behind The Shields, which is the project name he chose to release his first solo album Activation. Stringfellow calls these songs “modern anthems of joy and loss; a raw and bittersweet ode to survival and sound.” Stringfellow means to “reframe classic rock influences through a lens of modern reckoning.” This collection emerged after a personal tragedy and a near-death experience, and has been influenced by the emotional honesty of artists like Bruce Springsteen, The Psychedelic Furs, Patti Smith and The Replacements. 

A strong point of interest is that Stringfellow is co-owner of Brighton Electric Studio, his creative home for over a decade where the Cure have also written and recorded. Before that, Stringfellow toured with Sub Pop bands in the 2000’s and earned accolades from Kerrang!, NME and BBC Radio 1. My favorite Stringfellow quote: “A professional is an amateur that never gives up.”

Stringfellow’s studio band includes Jimi Wheelwright (Tigercub) and Jan Alkema (Compulsion). Friend and engineer Dan Swift produced and mixed from home, despite recent heart surgery!

“Sleeping Pill” introduces the Shields sound, which (not surprisingly) has the drive of Springsteen crossed with the raw clatter of The Replacements. The lead vocals are a total surprise, as they seem to have jumped the line from the middle of the song (or even the middle of a verse!). It’s as if The Boss broke into your bedroom one night to lecture you not about immigrants and veterans, but about the dangers of too many narcotics! The song itself is one steady riff with siren-like effects, but I’ll be damned if I wasn’t pulled forward with every beat! There’s also touches of Bowie and Mott The Hoople.

In “Fantasies” Stringfellow mellows a bit and we can hear his English accent clearly, a bit Peter Gabriel-adjacent in the choruses. The Shields sound is not hyper-crisp: it’s more a cloud of rock, with the pleasing “ball of sound” you get at a live show. “Say My Name” reinforces the Gabriel vocal style on a ‘Mats structure (including laconic keys and backing vocal trills). “Sunday” is a short, fun idea for a song (“Sunday is my Fun Day!”) and is driven along with Stones-like guitar and avuncular vocals.

I’m always a sucker for a Hemingway reference, so (the) “Sun Also Rises” grabbed my attention. Musically it’s much faster and is based on quick repeated notes in the verses, as if Stringfellow was tuning his guitar and the idea grew from there. “Love Is Violence” somehow moves us to the electro pop realm, though the instrumentation hasn’t really changed (the “electro” part may just be piano keys!). Given the Gabriel similarity, the music here also recalls the early Genesis “Music Box” days.The song’s topic is definitely provocative but you barely notice as you bop along.

“Paper Plates” is a notably treble track in the Tom Petty tradition, with all the garage rock influence that implies. Stringfellow’s voice seems to rise to the occasion, packing in extra helpings of passion to match the sharp guitars. “I Feel Your Pain” is yet another left turn, dangerously close to dream pop with spacey synths, pounding drums and what sounds like a woman’s harmony vocals a la “Of Monsters and Men”.  The closing song “Being Big” somehow breaks through the rock fog with the cleanest, most upfront recording yet. Built on a sassy, swampy beat, the guitar is razor sharp, the bass and drums solid, and the vocals dead center and terrific. Cool “slowing down” ending too. 

Though I’ve reviewed a crop of Replacements-influenced albums lately, the ‘Mats are clearly just a starting point for Stringfellow. His closet is packed with goodies and I’m there for all of it. Recommended!

Farbod Biglari’s Nightmare is less an album than a form of emotional cartography. Born in Iran and now based in Vancouver, Biglari draws from a background in cinema, theater, jazz, and experimental music to create a collection that is both inward-facing and sharply composed. Across eight tracks, he sketches out internal spaces shaped by loss, memory, and the uncertainty of displacement. It feels less like storytelling and more like a conversation with things left unsaid.

Most of the recording took place in a modest studio in Iran. Rather than mask that environment, Biglari invites it in. Many of the vocals and instrumental takes were captured in single sessions, retaining a sense of breath, shake, and real-time uncertainty. The production in Vancouver doesn't polish these edges but rather enhances the emotional contrasts. The result is a collection that holds two places at once, shaped by both physical and psychological distance.

What struck me is the refusal to force catharsis. Nightmare does not provide release, it offers presence. On “My Past,” nylon-string guitar flickers against upright bass, with subtle ambient pads beneath. The phrasing is patient. It doesn't rush toward anything, and that’s part of what gives it weight.

“Café” evokes a kind of hollowed-out intimacy. The piano sounds almost antique, like it’s being played in an empty room you’re not supposed to be in. I loved the fragility of the vocal delivery and the unforced elegance of the arrangement. “Leap Year” bends time inward. Its melodies feel suspended in a kind of emotional static, with cascading piano and a warmth in the mix that makes even its quietest moments feel deliberate.

The title Nightmare is misleading, but purposefully so. These aren’t violent outbursts or surrealist dreamscapes. They’re slow drifts through rooms built from memory and hesitation. Nothing is exaggerated. Everything feels measured, even when it is unraveling.

Biglari’s work doesn’t pull you in with spectacle. Instead, it sits patiently, waiting for you to meet it halfway. And when you do, it doesn’t vanish. It changes your sense of what quiet can do. This is music that builds a space you do not exit the same.

Become A Fan

Darren Sullivan is an excellent, unique one-man-band whose recent Bougainvillea I reviewed on this site. His unique twist is that he records all his vocals, guitars, bass and drums on live mics; that he’s so skilled on each instrument really makes it sound like you’ve wandered into a band’s bedroom rehearsal. His newest collection for 2025 is called Dreams of the Byzantines.

Sullivan informs us that he’s now the proud owner of a Les Paul guitar, along with new Shure mics for his drum kit (he also mentions having learned to play a Gretsch bass, which was clear on his previous album). He says this release is more mellow than his last, while still in the alt-indie-rock mode (with occasional synths). He was aiming for a positive, uplifting vibe “for anyone going through challenging times.”

As a songwriter Sullivan is also unique, basically starting with random notes or melodies to which are added beats and other instruments, with the lyrics and harmonies pretty much at the end of the line. “It's all very organic, and a lot of fun. I never know where a song is going, but I let the freedom of jamming take control, which is then modified into a cohesive song. My goal is to someday just live off my music and record tracks all day long; that would be my heaven.”

“Bloom” is a rapid-fire opener that establishes Sullivan’s current sound: mostly vocals up front, surrounded by wide, creative drum patterns with the guitars taking third position (very much like a 60’s single, as is the psychedelic guitar solo). Like much of Sullivan’s previous album, “No Funny Games” looks back to pre-Tommy Who or The Small Faces. There’s some clever rhymes: “But enough with the Redwood Forest / It brings us to the chorus / ain’t nobody know where my money goes / This is what we lose / It puts us to the screws…”

“Memory Found” is a mysterious minor key rocker with vocals so thick with doubling and harmonies that you can’t help but be swept away. In the lyrics Sullivan mentions the movie “Apocalypse Now” and his extended jam sequence can’t help but echo the Doors classic “The End” which opens “Apocalypse Now.” There’s even a surprising key change before the final verses. This is definitely the one to beat! More great lyrics: “We were too young to remember Jaws / But it really freaked us out / Couldn’t decide if it was real or not / Like getting punched in the mouth… maybe just a memory found.”

Sullivan says the title track “Dreams of the Byzantines” is a reference to the W.B. Yeats poem "Sailing to Byzantium". Yeats wishes he could go back to the Byzantium era because of how they appreciated and respected art within their culture. Sullivan jumps off from here as he muses about what life might be like in different (or better) eras of history. As now expected, the song launches into an extended psychedelic jam in the middle. When the song proper comes back, it’s kind of a surprise! “Byzantine dreams run through my head / Sometimes I live there instead.” Another British Invasion-style love song arrives with “My Own Direction.” The vocals are on the lower side with a confidential air. The guitar chorus hook is simple, but played with economy and authority. 

“Not a Moment to Waste” has a structure close to the Velvet’s “Rock & Roll” and threatens to derail at any moment during the surf-twangy guitar riffs. With a track like this, you can pretty much envision the jam tape Sullivan began with that magically became a song! “So It Goes” revives great memories of a young band called The Kinks. “My Sister’s Friend” concludes the album with a  3-minute reminiscence about a sister’s friend whom our narrator “wanted from the start.” The rock tempo suddenly “comes on to” some sort of stimuli, then shakes off the head trip to drive the track home. I’m guessing the trip sequence was the original end of the track, but Sullivan cut and pasted the beginning for the final romp. 

Playing back the album in my mind after the first listen, my memory was that most songs were mixed with vocals sitting smartly on top. On second listen I realized Sullivan left plenty of space for other things when the vocals took a break. Each song is a perfect representation of itself and always leaves you wanting more! 

Become A Fan

Odelet’s Raindance is a confident and finely crafted release, one that highlights both her technical precision and expressive range. Released on July 11, 2025, alongside the dub reinterpretation Raindance In Dub, the album carries the weight of a long creative process. Originally intended as a follow-up to The Angels Album from 2022, the project was delayed after a studio glitch disrupted its final recording. That detour led to Pisces Pie, a digital release that marked a shift in direction, but Odelet eventually returned to Raindance with a renewed sense of clarity. Partnering with mixing engineer Larry Crane, known for his work with Elliott Smith and as the founder of Jackpot! Recording Studio, she completed the album with a sound that feels both deliberate and spacious.

Odelet’s music blends elements of jazz, R&B, trip-hop, and ambient soul into what she calls “Surrealist R&B.” The opening track “Know It All” immediately sets the tone with deep low-end textures and a baritone vocal presence that pulled me in. “Dirge” follows in a similar mood. The lyrics feel elusive, but the upright bass and the atmosphere are enough to carry the track forward. I especially liked the warmth of the organ on “Be Still,” and the title track reminded me of Portishead in the way it handles space and restraint.

“Jezebel” adds some welcome energy. It’s one of the more upbeat songs and a definite highlight. I also kept coming back to “Bayou” for its layered arrangement. “Think It Over,” “Up Up and Away,” and “Wake Up Call” each bring something distinct while still feeling connected. “Wake Up Call” in particular stood out with its catchy groove. The closer “Sands of Time” ends the album on a reflective note, maintaining the album’s late-night tone.

​The production is rich without being overwhelming. There is a subtle elegance in the way these songs unfold, and the dub version offers an alternate lens without overshadowing the original. Odelet isn’t rushing to impress, but rather inviting listeners to stay with the work and let its details reveal themselves gradually. It’s a strong release, thoughtfully assembled and deeply listenable. Take a listen.

Become A Fan

The Albatross is a progressive rock band (with spaghetti western leanings) from Columbia, South Carolina: formed in 2007, playing live since 2009 and releasing original tunes since 2016. The band’s fifth and newest release is a concept album titled At Dusk. Drummer Ben Kiehl and Bassist Zack Stoudemayer started the band in the 8th grade, but lost their singer after high school graduation. Ben’s brother Jake promptly took the reins, handling lead guitar, vocals and songwriting.

The album revolves around The Seafarer which is an Old English poem as well as the 1798 Samuel Taylor Coleridge epic poem “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” which is basically a long tale spun by a crazed old sailor, packed with wrathful spirits and dice-playing skeletons. The band states that they “…wanted to do an album as one piece of music tied together thematically and sonically, as our previous albums were more just a collection of unrelated songs.” The music is described as “more psychedelic” with longer instrumental sections than their previous works.

The band’s influences include early Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, Mountain, Wishbone Ash and The Moody Blues, along with a smattering of surf rock: “what would surf rock sound like If it was on a cold, wet, stormy northern beach with no place to surf, rather than the archetypical sunny California beaches Dick Dale and the Ventures wrote about?" This album is a DIY effort, recorded at band members’ homes with mixing and mastering by drummer Ben Kiehl. 


“At Dusk” appropriately opens with seagulls and surf, then kicks into a newfangled surf rock instrumental with a melody line so instantly classic, you’d swear it’s already been a Hit! This track gives us a chance to suss out the band’s recorded sound, which is wide-open and clean. You can seemingly hear every drum hit and every twangy guitar note in crystal clarity. Even the fuzz-tone sections remain nicely arranged without overloading the speakers or your ears. 

“The Seafarer” follows without a break, introduced by trebly bass patterns and marching drums. The guitars move into strumming mode in order to frame Jake Kiehl’s storytelling vocals. Kiehl has a pleasing, somewhat heavy metal voice like an Ozzy still in high school. This track runs 15 minutes and includes a stunning, multifaceted guitar solo that encompassed a full walk around my local park! You’ll suspect two or three songs have played by the end. Thematically this is where most of the Coleridge influence resides (and now I know what an Albatross really is!).

“Plains of Abraham” was written and sung by bassist Zack Stoudemayer and features more of an acoustic, country rock vibe (do I dare mention The Allman Brothers?). All the guys eventually join in on vocals, with an amiably ragged feel. Overall the song stays pretty much the same but is gradually fattened up with fuzzier guitars that sound like keyboards. “Touch Fuzzy Get Dizzy” fades in during a drum solo but quickly becomes a full-throated blues workout in the tradition of band favorite Mountain, with guitar tones worthy of Sabbath. 

“Cain & Abel” is another left turn, with its Cat Stevens-like acoustic strumming and very close-up, White Album-esque drumming. This song’s yet more proof that this band handles quieter tunes just as well as prog rockers. “Muad’Dib” takes us back to surf rock territory, with super-fuzz bass and ringing guitar figures. The final track “I Wish You Well” was again written and sung by bassist Zack Stoudemayer, and is another epic (eight minutes) that means to close the story of the crazed wanderer. Here I’m getting a taste of early Pink Floyd, both musically and in the wide expanse of the mix. 

It’s rare to find a band that comes up with a concept and actually sees it through. I not only thoroughly dug this collection but also learned something in the process (Imagine that!). This is a band totally worth discovering for yourself!

Brood22’s just past the exit with the truck stop drifts in like fog on an early morning highway, sparse and heavy, hypnotic and raw. The EP feels carved out of solitude. It is five tracks of slacker slowcore that lean into inertia, sketching a portrait of internal reckoning with nothing more than acoustic guitars, minimalist percussion, and the occasional swell of distortion. The project carries a haunted stillness, rooted in the dry desolation of Southern Arizona but steeped in the overcast tone of the Pacific Northwest.

The opening track “hedonismbot” sets the stage with acoustic strumming, scattered percussion, and an unpolished production style that reminded me of early Phil Elverum. It feels like a bedroom confession whispered into a tape recorder. I found the lo-fi texture compelling. There is a gloom here, but it does not feel forced. “this again” deepens that mood. It feels like a forgotten Sparklehorse demo, complete with that sense of hollow melancholy that hums just beneath the surface.

“genderless fuck monster” shifts into something slightly more groove-based. It’s still restrained, but the rhythm has a pulse that gives it motion. The interplay between bass and percussion creates a subtle tension that I liked. “bottle of sleep” is a standout in its restraint. It moves slowly, sliding across time with ghostly vocals and beautifully played guitar. The slide work in particular caught my ear—it felt weightless and aching at the same time.

The EP closes with “funnel web,” which is the most emotionally charged and sonically dynamic track of the five. It holds onto the project’s characteristic stillness but adds volume and tension in all the right places. I heard echoes of post-rock bands like Do Make Say Think here, especially in the way the instruments swell and then recede like tides. It left me with a strange kind of catharsis.

​This is one of those EPs that benefits from being taken in as a whole. The pacing, the tone, and the sense of space are so integral to the experience. I appreciated how cohesive it all felt. The songwriting does not try to dazzle with complexity, but it holds emotional weight. There’s a quiet confidence in that approach, and I think it works. I recommend setting aside twenty minutes and sinking into it.

Become A Fan

Following a long path from Cornwall, UK that could have easily been a Middle Earth forest comes David Goosey, a musician whose songs move freely among dream pop, folk and experimental modes. Goosey has just released a new concept album titled The Pilgrim’s Path which is based on a journey through ancient sites across the UK, “from Cornwall’s sacred stones to Oxford’s hallowed halls.”

The Pilgrim’s Path is Goosey’s 10th release. He began as a LoFi solo artist, whose music even then drew from local folklore and natural landscapes, “incorporating themes of mythology, personal growth, and emotional reflection.” Goosey’s music features evocative soundscapes incorporating lush vocal harmonies, layered arrangements and atmospheric production. Goosey explains that each track “…reflects the emotional and spiritual pilgrimage of life, weaving together mythology, nature and personal reflection.” The album’s sound is a mixture of electronic and organic elements, recorded and mastered at Goosey’s home studio using Ableton Live. Goosey’s influences have been termed “Nick Drake and Jeff Buckley meet Depeche Mode and Boards of Canada.”


“Over The Tor” is a short introduction built on chiming guitars and evocative, Fleets-like vocals. Goosey’s notes explain that the music was inspired by the “Saints Way” route from north to south Cornwall, with the lyrics evoking “the tide bell ringing (across) the tor.” The backing strings give the track a retro, “Knights in White Satin” feel. Without losing the string section, “Rough Tor Buzzards” moves the music into the electropop realm, with vocals somewhat similar to indie artist Kiffie. The lyrics contain just two lines that are taken apart and reconfigured for different harmonies like Gentle Giant. “Walk The Pilgrims Path” could be considered the title track, “inviting listeners to step into the physical and spiritual act of pilgrimage, where every footfall carries stories of those who came before and the possibility of new revelations ahead.” Surely not his intention, but Goosey’s music conjures images of American Indians roaming their still unspoiled land: “Bruise your knees on the rocks as you fall / remember there is no turning back / from childhood to old age…” The rhythms and drum-like samples work great!

It’s a cliche to say so, but “To Take The Waters” has picked acoustic guitars that really do sound like cascading waters, while overall the track’s melodies and vocals recall the gentler side of Radiohead. It was inspired by “the healing springs of Great Malvern and a moment of swimming shared with Dave’s girlfriend Loui.” Then follows a 7-minute epic “Tomb Of The Failed King” that was so dramatic and evocative that I was compelled to Google King John’s tomb in Worcester Cathedral. Both the music (again like the Fleet Foxes) and the actual history gave me the chills.

“Fear Not Thy Spirit” was written in 2018 and surprisingly feels like an unplugged Who track, with the chorus more like a 60’s folk rock classic.

“The Whispering Knights” was inspired by the Rollright Stones of Oxfordshire, about 80 miles from Stonehenge and similar in many ways (yes, I went back to Google!). Goosey says this Moody Blues-like track “captures the eerie and sacred atmosphere of these stone sentinels, bridging time and mystery… these ancient megaliths seem to murmur forgotten secrets.” Similarly the root inspiration of “Dance Yourself To Stone” is a myth where a wedding party is turned to stone, creating the famous Stanton Drew stone circles (another 70 miles from the Rollright Stones, if you’re keeping track!). The arrangement here is among the most interesting, being a mixture of gentle techno, folk and chamber, with yet another haunting choir-like vocal construction.

“The Mermaid’s Curse” is a folk-EDM hybrid celebrating the return home to Cornwall, the site of havoc wreaked by the local mermaids of legend. “Thorn In My Heart” is a quiet, acoustic conclusion with (again) interesting and spare percussion and heartfelt (even falsetto) vocals, moving the narrator’s gaze from the larger journey to his loved one close by: “I keep my love true for you like a temple inside my heart / all the thorns never kept us apart.” An almost perfect conclusion to an incredible journey.

You don’t have to follow Goosey’s journey using the internet like I did, but even on its own this is a compelling collection of songs and concepts. Fascinating!

Become A Fan

Nuno Henry Silva returns with Catch Me on a Bad Day, a fourteen-track album that feels like a continuation of the moody, fuzz-drenched world he has been crafting for years. If you have followed his music, there is a certain familiarity in the textures and pacing, but that does not mean he is standing still. These songs breathe in that strange space between lo-fi introspection and vivid psychedelia, and I found myself returning to them more than I expected.

The opener “Mud” begins simply with strummed acoustic guitar and a warm vocal that pulls you in before giving way to a soaring guitar solo. It is an inviting introduction, disarmingly direct in its approach. “Bad Man” takes a darker turn. Bathed in distortion and delivered with an almost mumbled vocal, the song simmers rather than burns. I liked how it held back, letting the grime and gloom do the heavy lifting.

“Head in the Clouds” is one of the standouts for me. A thick phaser runs through the track, giving it a spaced-out quality, and the lead guitar tone is fantastic. It reminded me of the kind of song that might play during the closing credits of a late-night indie film, the kind that leaves you staring at the screen for a few extra moments.

“Sappy Love Song” plays with the clichés of romance in a way that feels both ironic and sincere. I found the lyrics charming in their self-awareness, especially lines like “Can I live that fantasy? Let me live that fantasy.” There is a playfulness here, but it does not undercut the emotional weight of the track.

“Deceive Me” is another track that leans into effects, filling the mix with white noise and swirling textures. The guitar work stood out, and I could not help but think of John Frusciante during some of the more expressive moments. “Change” shifts toward shoegaze. The effects become more layered, almost glowing, and the lyrics hit hard. The line “I try to change, but I never really change that much at all” sat with me long after the song ended.

Each track on the album also comes with an instrumental version, which gives the project a second life. Stripped of vocals, the songs reveal new layers, especially in the way Silva uses space and subtle shifts in tone.

​Catch Me on a Bad Day is not trying to dazzle you with complexity. It works in shadows, through texture and mood. The minimal arrangements are elevated by smart production choices, and Silva’s ability to wring emotion from a few simple elements is what holds it all together. I felt like I was eavesdropping on something personal. It is a cohesive and rewarding listen.

Sleepmarks is an Arlington, Virginia band with a short but interesting history: formed in 2017, each member switched to instruments they did not normally play. A certain band called The Replacements also pulled the same trick, and it’s perhaps not coincidental that the ‘Mats are the group these guys most remind me of. Starting out pre-pandemic, the band spent their isolation time writing and arranging the songs for their newest release, Tension In The Air.

The band members and their instrumental switcheroos are as follows: James Smith moved from guitar to bass (also piano), Fred Burton from drums to guitar, and Pierre Davis from guitar to drums. That would partly account for the energy and abandon of these 90’s-style tracks, which also recall Sebadoh, Husker Du and Big Star.

​Because of Covid, the band was unable to tour behind their 2020 debut EP “Evapoarating Haze” but quickly got back on the saddle with shows in the DC area and beyond, highlighted by a headlining set at Washington DC’s iconic Fort Reno Concert Series. Recording and mixing for this new album was by Reese Clutter with mastering by TJ Tipple. This release is available in most formats at great prices.

“24 Hours a Day” wastes no time in blasting forth that Replacements energy. If you like that kind of raucous, jangly rock, this is for you! This track features guest Chance Boyce on keyboards, which sands down the rough edges just the tiniest bit. If this is what it sounds like to play instruments you don’t actually play, then all bands should do this! Basically a three-minute song stretched to five, the extra (slight) variations work perfectly in context. “Walking Timebomb” is even longer at six minutes and sounds like it may be down-tuned for extra heaviness. The vocals are anthemic and assertive, a great foil to the rapid tempo and wall-of-sound guitars. 

“The Fire Burns” is the track “chosen” to play first on Bandcamp, and it grabbed me by the throat and wouldn’t let go! Here’s an example where the band’s influences go way before the Replacements to the classic garage bands of the 60’s, with this song in particular feeling a lot like the insane Love hit “7 and 7 Is.” The crazy guitar solo is like The Byrds on acid (oh wait…). Wil Morales guests on backing vocals. “Inactive” has a cool, twangy, staccato arrangement for the guitars and bass, giving the lead vocals plenty of room. My first-listen notes say “Replacements” so make of that what you will (I was probably thinking of “I’m In Love With That Song”).

“Beet Red” has an intimate “clears throat” opening, then follows with one of the tighter arrangements with each instrument crystal clear and carefully placed (that goes for the whole album, BTW). This song is said to portray “rage” but the call-and-response chorus vocals are just too much fun, as is a certain guitar that sounds like it was was routed through a garbage truck. Wil Morales again helps with backing vocals, as does Mike Erickson on “Kickin’ In” which features howling canines just like the Who’s “Dogs Part Two” and relentless energy like the Sex Pistols Hit “Anarchy In The UK.”

Eight songs, every one a banger, and available on CD or vinyl at bargain prices (plus download, natch!). You know you’re gonna love it!