Sleepin Pillow: Superman's Blues

Sleepin Pillow hail from the island of Greece and play a mixture of psychedelic and progressive rock mixed with trip hop beats and spacey elements. In the band are Nomik (vocals), Aisha sama (bass), Rispa (guitars), Antoine (keys, guitars), Nick Jacqueline (wind pipes, percussion) and The Skinman (drums). Just in case you were wondering these are the band member's nicknames.

Superman's Blues is the band's second release, the first being 2008's Apples on an Orange Tree of which I have not had the pleasure of hearing.

Sleepin Pillow's music is quite interesting and I was impressed from the very first listen. This is moody and atmospheric stuff with lots of interesting synth sounds adding spacey elements as well as psychedelic touches throughout. The band also injects western infused guitar at times to go along with East Indian motifs giving the music an exotic flair and while their sound is sometimes dense there are also moments of quiet ambience and sparser sounds reflecting a minimalistic approach. It all makes for some heady progressive music sometimes invoking images of Radiohead and often Porcupine Tree, both musically and vocally.

The album opens with "Holy Monster", the synth sound builds before trip hop beats and whispered vocals give the song an eerie quality. The sound is pretty laid back before a more intense ending.

On the album's second track "Silicone" sampled radio sounds leads to distorted guitar strums and interesting percussion sounds. The vocals are quite reserved reminding me a little of Steven Wilson and the musical backdrop carries East Indian motifs, especially the percussion.

The band get a little heavier on the title track, an exotic bit of Porcupine Tree influenced progressive rock with alternative elements thrown in.

With "An Idiots Point of View" ambient textures, subdued keyboards and a trip hop beat slowly unfolds. The overall mood is a bit darker and trippy keys add to the richly textured atmosphere creating a cool mixture of psych, space and minimalist sounds.

The spacey vibe continues with "Home", an instrumental built upon layers of moody keys and effects and the densely atmospheric "Anakrousis" where the processed vocals fit well with the electronic vibe and haunting soundscapes.

There is no filler here as Sleepin Pillow has produced an excellent progressive/art rock album with Superman's Blues. Highly recommended for fans of melancholic rock in the vein of Porcupine Tree and related bands.

Track Listing:
1. Holy Monster
2. Silicone
3. Superman's Blues
4. An Idiot's Point Of View
5. Pathetic
6. Dope
7. Home
8. Anakrousis
9. A Big Circle
10. Masterpiece
11. Simple Words Of Truth
12. Superman Singing The Blues

Added: November 5th 2011
Reviewer: Jon Neudorf
Score:
Related Link: Band's Official Site
Hits: 2093
Language: english

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