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The Sound Of Stavanger

Sleepyard, Future Lines

Sleepyard review in Stylus Magazine

SLEEPYARD - Future Lines

Another reason to love the internet: Norway's Sleepyard would have passed completely below my radar. While the core of the band are the brothers Kersbergen (Oliver and Svein), they've got no less than twelve other musicians (including keys and treatment from Spacemen 3's Pete Kember) strapped in for the epic trip into twilight. The first four pieces wouldn't sound out of place in the dream sequences of Terry Gilliam's "Brazil". They're soaring, lush soundscapes with ethereal, gauzy guitar, fluttering flute and strings. "Hot Radio" and "Bionic Exercise" both stand out to me, the first being a lush vibe with crescendos and waves over a primal, krautrock beat while the latter sounds like the Beach Boys, if that beach was located next to an unexplored jungle. Almost primal, totally surreal. "Afternoon Suntrap" is the sound of unknown, dark and foreboding, yet inviting. It leads you to the "Tangerine Road", where angels sing you down while the rag-tag duo of old-tyme piano and pedal steel play on. "Heavy Sunset" ends the disc, prying your eyelids open with rays from the sky. The whole album has the hazy, dream-like, something you thought you've experienced before but can't quite pin down quality. But unlike a dream, this is something you can easily find and fall back into. And with the internet, there's no excuse to not check out this, or any other Sleepyard discs.

Patrick Michalishyn

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