When last I mentioned The Sleeps, it was mostly to air my dissatisfaction with their attempted flair for fashion. No longer. I must atone for my musical closemindedness. Swoopy hair and high-heeled blacklight reactive boots do not automatically cancel out good music. Now it is time for my penance. Many Hail Mary’s, and maybe a bloody one or two.

The free demo handed out at the show was burnt onto a cheap Magnavox CD. Their name was sharpied on it. The track listing page and the folded case for the demo were printed on the Milwaukee Department on Aging directory pages. I was amused. I smirked.

That smirk was wiped right off my face when I popped in the CD. They’re good. They aren’t ‘good’ for the youngin’s they are. They’re actually good, legitimately good, good enough I would buy their CD without thinking or looking back, and cherish it forever good. Yeah.

I don’t know why I didn’t appreciate them more at the Grog Shop. Perhaps it was the mixing – the Grog Shop has legendarily bad mixing. Perhaps it was the acoustics or lack thereof. Perhaps I’m just dense. Regardless, I’m really happy about those free Demos.

I saw The Sleeps play a little over a week ago. According to last.fm I have listened to their album 16 times. That’s 128 plays.

Their music is that of electro-rock. There are hints of pop, minimal though they may be. Perhaps minimalist pop would apply here. While there are some bands were the Rock element lies heavier than the Electro element (such as IMA Robot) The Sleeps are definitely the inverse. Their electo-ness doesn’t get out of hand, though. It’s kept nice and tight, if not hard, and is even danceable if you have some idea of how to dance in a way that doesn’t involve flailing.

I don’t.

The vocals are rather subdued. perhaps that is the real reason I didn’t find them engaging in concert. I am a bit of a trollop for distinctive vocals. The singing here isn’t particularly energetic. The range not extremely wide. The vocals seem to lie on the same plane as the music. Most incarnations of rock music have a space between the music and the singing, with the vocals taking precedence. A lot of electronic music inverts that, placing a huge emphasis on the music, at the expense of the vocals. Here they seem to balance the two perfectly, each highlighting the other.

The Sleeps have a great thing going. It’s truly fabulous. Some of their songs are so electronically funky I find myself slinking around the apartment, others leave me air drumming, and they all have me singing along.

What to take away…

The Sleeps are a fantastic electro-rock band. Forget their regional status, forget their age, forget their lack of a label. All of those things will change. Their music is up for free at ReverbNation. You ought to go download it right now.

What should you expect?

Awesome.

What drink to pair with it?

A Pilsner Urqell. Tasty, easy, with just a little more Hops than one would expect.

Favorite Song?

As usual, there is a tie.

“Disposition” is really funky, and reminds a tidge of MGMT. The vocals are as diverse as they get on the album, and that beat is just great.

On the flip side is “Over”. “Over” is an Instrumental. I really generally don’t like Instrumentals. Until this point that was a universal rule. “Over” is just so damn good… They handle their instuments perfectly for the song, and any lack of personality in the song I would normally complain about is completely moot here. They really are able to lend personality to the song just through the use of their instuments. That gets them a gold star.