EMBRACE

Before reading this review I should warn you that I´m not a psychedelic/space rock specialist. I was always a fan of fine melodies, well done arrangements and general harmonic sounds. Hence my love for symphonic rock. I was raised on a steady diet of classical music thanks to my parents taste. That said I also should point out that I love rock music since my teens and I have a need to explore new grounds in music since then. Sometimes you find great stuff, sometimes you don´t, but you have to try. I chose Sleepy´s Sun first CD to listen to because I liked their name. it sounded quite progressive.

I can´t say I enjoyed the CD too much, though. The group succesfully plays a kind of late 60´s, west cost, blues/country/rock psychedelic music mixed with some modern day garage band sound (specially the white noise, dissonant, guitar parts). It is clear they look for the vintage flavor of San Francisco´s flower Power era (fuzz guitars, sloppy vocals, nice harmonica breaks and tribal drums), with a much better production and the aforementioned new features like some distorted guitar barrages here and there). Sometimes they remind of the Big Brother & The Holding Company (without Janis Joplin, of course): a bit out of control, but energetic and promising. Brett Constantino´s vocals are annoying, but I guess they fit just right in for this style. Rachel Fannan on the other hand has a very fine voice but she is very underused here, a real shame: the few times she sings lead are best sung parts in the whole album. I initially though this group would be a kind of modern Jefferson Airplane, but clearly they are not.

If you´re into this kind of music I think it is worth to check it out. it is only their first and certainly they have the chops to make something more developed. And I hope they come up with better songs next time. The ones here did not move me enough to warrant a 3 star rating. Embrace is definitly to fans of the style and collectors.

Embrace is the debut album by Californian sextet Sleepy Sun. From the outset their heavy brand of stoner rock reminds me of Canadian band Black Mountain, thanks to the mix of slightly lethargic male and female vocals. They don't rely on keyboards the way Black Mountain do but the fuzzed-out guitars, tribal drums and heavy bass are all present. Sleepy Sun's own West Coast roots are also evident especially on the more laid-back and acoustic songs like the '60s-inspired GOLDEN ARTIFACT, while the alt-country piano ballad LORD sounds like Ryan Adams (which is just fine by me). There's an obvious religious message in this song with lyrics about finding the saviour, and similar themes run through the album as on the epic WHITE DOVE.

Highlights include the atmospheric slow-blues of SLEEPY SON that includes some fine amplified harmonica, and the psychedelic, murky NEW AGE that opens the album. There's not a great deal of melodic interest in some of the lengthy distorted guitar grunge jams, but I guess that's not the point of these pieces. Tarcisio just beat me to the first review of this album, and that review summarizes Embrace very well. For me it's somewhere between 2 and 3 stars; it gets better with repeat plays so I'll be generous and give it 3 stars.