sleepyhands Smoke People

Basements. Why does so much great music get made in them? If I was making music, I wouldn't want to be making it next to cleaning products and old electronic goods. sleepyhands, a Sydney seven-piece, makes music so beautiful that it sounds as if it might have been fashioned in an untouched forest glade -- not by the washing machine.

Making such a large band work is bound to be complex, but with many minds comes a myriad of ideas. Enlisting the services of local jack-of-all-trades Jonathan Boulet (of Parades fame), sleepyhands have crafted a dreamy self-titled EP to be proud of. Superb, drifting harmonies, diverse percussion (which has Boulet's fingerprints all over it), emotive composition, and just a touch of banjo makes this an album worth acquiring.

Emerging from their submerged hideaway, sleepyhands managed to find a few stages big enough to fit all band members, supporting local groups like Jinja Safari, Deep Sea Arcade, and Ernest Ellis.

This EP is a delight from start to finish. Unusually measured and enchanting tracks like "Cross Your Fingers" and "Saints" bookend livelier songs, giving the album a daydream feel. It seems that as soon as you press play, you wake up feeling happy and refreshed, but not quite sure where you are. As a banjo aficionado, "We Being Human" is a personal favorite, with the energetic vocals and hand clapping adding the finishing touches to a barnstormer.  

sleepyhands have come a long way since those early, underground days, and with so many talented intellects at work, they no doubt have a triumphant road ahead of them.