To this day, I get a little bummed that Austin, Texas’ Sound Team broke up (I still think that Work EP was underrated). The silver lining is that several of their members are pursuing awesome projects since their disbanding: such as Bill Baird’s project Sunset and now Will Patterson’s project Sleep Good. His latest album under the Sleep Good moniker is titled Skyclimber, and it is the first Sleep Good album recorded with a full band. Patterson led his new band in recording a solid album of feel good pop tunes that sound heavily influenced by the Brian Wilson-era American pop-music of the 1960s with songs featuring prominent “la la la” backing harmonies and jangly guitar. So today’s pairing? Well nothing screams good-old American popular culinary classic more than a hamburger. But, of course, Kasey’s homemade brioche burger buns are more than your average accompaniment and really raise the bar for the average summer cookout. Likewise, Sleep Good doesn’t merely mimic the music that influenced them, but instead find a way to add their own twist to the most classic form of American pop music.
An analog affair, Skyclimber was recorded using both lo-fi cassette tapes and hi-fi 1/2″ 8 track tape, recorded and mixed without the use of a computer. The title came apparently from a strange encounter with a homeless man Patterson met when touring with Sunset when the band’s vehicle broke down in the middle of Arizona. The man asked them if they were “skyclimbers” before informing them that he had just been released from prison and that he was going to kill Patterson. From the upbeat, jangly album opener “Hey Man” to the twinkling, keyboard-backed closer “Friends,” Skyclimber is jam-packed with sunny-day pop tunes that are sure to brighten lazy summer afternoons (even if you are broken down in the middle of Arizona). Pick up the album on limited edition LP+CD (only 500 copies) or just CD at the always rewarding and awesome Autobus Records.
Head back to eating/sf to read the recipe for Kasey’s homemade brioche hamburger buns.
