Hidden Shoal Recordings » Sleeping Me Reviews

Sleeping Me “Cradlesongs” – Foxy Digitalis

Hidden Shoal Recordings — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 06:44:43 +0000

“One thing I like about reviewing records is that I can usually count on getting at least one really good sleeping record every time I get a package from the ol’ Foxy D headquarters. Not that I’m expecting a Stars Of The Lid album every time, but I usually end up with a gem on par with this one from Sleeping Me (Clayton McEvoy).

This album consists of 10 melodic, focused instrumental guitar pieces. There’s plenty of reverb and sweeping background effects, but this doesn’t feel like a mere “drone” record, the songs feel alive and breathing. As far as I can tell, all of the music (aside from some keyboard stabs on one track) was created solely by guitar, which makes the lush, oceanic feel all the more impressive. And yes, even though I already pegged this album as a record that sounds great while you’re trying to doze off, there’s really a lot going on if you pay attention.

You definitely won’t regret seeking this disc out, but if you want a quick taste, there’s a Sleeping Me EP release called “Lamenter” at archive.org for your listening pleasure. 8/10″

Foxy Digitalis

Sleeping Me “Cradlesongs” – Hypnagogue

tim — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 22:46:13 +0000

Excerpt: “superb debut disc… Moving from balladesque pieces that showcase McEvoy’s straightforward playing blended with a restrained electronic hand to deeply processed ambient washes where the guitar takes on a set of new identities… an easy, engaging listen that glides through this borderland and takes the listener along for the ride… you wait right along with him, and the next step always seems right… It’s artists like Sleeping Me, and his guitar-based stablemates, that keep me looking toward Hidden Shoal for intriguing new work. Cradlesongs is a Hypnagogue Highly Recommended CD.”

Hypnagogue

Sleeping Me “Cradlesongs” – Ondarock

tim — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 21:16:41 +0000

Excerpt (translated from the Italian): “The Australian label Hidden Shoal here confirms its cult reputation as a visionary in the discovery of new artists committed to exploring post-rock… Sleeping Me explores many nuances in the music, focusing on the subtle reflection and expansion of time… An excellent debut and a lovely new discovery in the vast constellation of instrumental acts, using melancholy and sensitivity without being overburdened with pathos.”

Ondarock

Sleeping Me “Cradlesongs” – [sic]

tim — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 22:50:47 +0000

Excerpt: “At its best it has an elegance and poignancy that is really beautiful… ‘First Cell, First Love’ has a relentless tick-tocking guitar figure that gives it a sense of its own brief mortality… beautiful in its simplicity even if it’s relentlessly sombre. Final track ‘The Rattle In Our Throats’ has a sweeping, melancholic grandeur which never threatens to turn into bombast, but is almost enough to induce tears.”[sic]

Sleeping Me “Cradlesongs” – Resident Advisor

tim — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 22:47:00 +0000

Excerpt: “a concise, precisely calibrated set of guitar-based ambient music… gorgeous and intriguing… it’s hard not to be impressed with just how much McEvoy does here with minute alterations of volume and emphasis… a very satisfying debut. McEvoy is insightful enough in his melodies and his sense of sound design that there’s a lot here to like, and the best songs reward the kind of deep engagement that ambient music is so perversely good at engendering. If he can advance on the strengths of the best tracks here, Sleeping Me’s next album could be a classic.”

Resident Advisor

Sleeping Me “Cradlesongs” – Luna Kafe

tim — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 22:50:30 +0000

Excerpt: “every time I have put this record on I have gotten sleepy. Not in that good laid back way, but in the way you get when you can’t sleep out of fear of the dark, but still want to close your tired eyes. Cradlesongs delivers soundscapes that are by all means elegant and beautiful shoegazing ambient. Or, more correctly, instrumental introvert guitar-based slow dreamy ambient. But there is a disturbed suppressed feeling in all the pretty tones. Like the idyllic soundscapes conceal the most terrible entity. And I keep waiting for the noise that never comes… an elegant album.”

Luna Kafe

Sleeping Me ‘Legs Like Gravestone’ – Luna Kafe

tim — Tue, 12 May 2009 02:24:11 +0000

Excerpt: “‘Legs Like Gravestone’, quite a magnificent, nightmarish title, is minimalism to the max. A most elegant tune, and a bit reminiscent of some of the Constellation bands, say Godspeed You Black Emperor! – before take-off… The song spins slowly around its theme core, and it dwells along its path, or during its orbit… quite a delicate song, making me excited for more.”

Luna Kafe