The Sleepers - Painless Nights
#271
1981 Housekeeping
The Sleepers
Painless Nights
Genre: Post-Rock
4 out of 5
Highlights:
Theory
There’s a relationship between this project and Tuxedomoon and Flipper. But, instead of being something to tout, the member of this band who was a founder of Flipper was deemed “too weird” for them and kicked out before the excellent Album - Generic Flipper was recorded. And, yes, it’s weird.
And it’s unlike a lot of what we come to think of as early 80s. It’s moody as hell and swirlingly edgy. Like a garage band listened to a LOT of The Cure and Siouxie and then went in the studio.
I enjoy it when a band sounds like they are channeling the vision of their members. Everybody is on board with Michael Belfor’s bizarre approach to his musical vision. And Williams’ improvisational lyric writing actually woks in the context of a more accessible Tuxedomoon style. And, while it’s not for everyone, I found it sublimely charming. I hear the Furs and Duran and ABC and a host of other sounds of the 80s burbling beneath the surface of this album.
What’s strange is that, while this isn’t completely fleshed out, this is the basic form that popular music will take very shortly.
Your mileage may vary on this one but I found the improv’d lyrics enhanced the record and gave it an extra .25 for that.
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