Album Review: Sleepy Sun, Spiny Hits

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Sleepy Suns latest release, Spiny Hits, is the record I want to spend all my hazy summer days jamming to. This is the San Francisco-based quintet’s third album and for a new band, they certainly have the genre of psychedelic rock down to a T. I made it a point to listen to the entire album multiple times before putting my typing out my coherent thoughts and what remained constant throughout every listen is the vivid visuals that popped into my head while listening. Immediately everything seemed to have a foggy, wavy quality with colors muted, and I was transported to a very different era of the 70s. Think visually the movie The Virgin Suicides with a hint of Almost Famous and you probably have a good idea of what this album had me tripping on.

Hands down, my favorite track is “Boat Trip.” The slow trance melody in addition to the angelic echoing all encompassing vocals that are intermittent make me want to be sitting in a meadow somewhere on a sunny day smoking opium and drifting into a peaceful happiness.

The next track, “V.O.G.,” definitely snaps the listener back to reality with slightly heavier guitar riffs that are really highlighted about 2/3 of the way through the track. It’s a different feel than the aforementioned song, but these guys show their talents with their ability to write different tunes, yet remain true to their primary sound.

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Moving farther along through the album, you’ll wind up with the gem “Deep War” that has an eerie quality that resonats throughout the song. With a sudden burst of powerful vocals to then be swallowed by drums and dirty fuzzy guitars, this song has a punch that makes it stand out from some of the others on the album.

Sleepy Sun is currently touring in support of Spiny Hits, which will be released today, April 10. However, if you can’t wait that long it’s currently streaming online on the band’s website. With this album, set a lazy day aside hit track 1, and enjoy listening to the whole album.  If you’re in the mood to see them live, check out their website for upcoming show dates, it seems they are making their rounds this tour and hopefully will be playing a city near you.