Sleeptalk: Young EP

Los Angeles, California quintet Sleeptalk deliver five spacey dream pop songs on their new release Young. The band’s latest EP, the second of a planned trilogy, features vocal styles similar to The Tough Alliance and production techniques reminiscent of Swedish group jj. Though not part of Sincerely Yours’ current roster, Sleeptalk at times sound as if they could be American cousins to the Gothenburg independent record label.

At under two minutes, the EP’s opening track “Phenomenon” starts small and unassuming before quickly building to an explosive chorus that has singer Anthony Fitzpatrick victoriously repeating, “You’re my phenomenon!” The album’s title track “Young” utilizes clever guitar interplay paired with a bit of vocal gymnastics that occasionally has Fitzpatrick doubling his tempo to fit all the lyrics in.

The record’s centerpiece “Bones” is perhaps the strongest offering here. The song successfully takes advantage of heavy studio gimmickry to make the wave-like atmospherics sound as if they’re getting sucked completely out, and then pushed back into the listener’s ears. “Drowned Out” is the most optimistic sounding of any of the tracks on Young and could almost pass for reggae fusion. The EP ends with “Drift Away” which returns to the same push/pull audio tricks that were used in “Bones”.

A handful of tracks in just over fifteen minutes isn’t a lot of time to get to know a band. It would have been nice to hear how Sleeptalk tackled a ballad or at least something that pulled the production back a bit in order to reveal some raw emotion and vulnerability. This aside, Young provides a mostly decent set of songs that will serve as an okay, albeit brief introduction to Sleeptalk’s sound.

Rating: 6.5/10

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