Sugar Skull (2017)

October 20, 2017
Sleepy Driver
BlackBell Records (Independent)
Producer: Ethan Young-Lai and Peter Hicks
Number of discs: 1

Sugar Skull is quite the feat; Sleepy Driver have managed to incorporate all the best elements of their past work while moving forward to fashion an album that occupies its own creative space. The album succeeds on several levels: the band is both mature and experimental, the sound is powerful and clear, and the songs are complete in themselves while also holding together as a set.

– Craig Ellis Bacon – Radio Eclectic

While the roots-rock, Americana influence that guides Hicks’ songwriting is undoubtedly a defining trait of ‘the Sleepy Driver sound’, the band’s apparent interest in pursuing new directions within the time-honoured, roots rock framework is an equally important part of what they do. And Sugar Skull is a fine example. From the unexpected percussive decay that concludes Believe, Belong to the overdriven pedal steel that blasts out the main solo on Radio Dial, the album’s shameless, straight ahead, “hit single”, Sleepy Driver bring something unique to the genre. Their just-left-of-centre approach is perfectly on point.

– Grid City Magazine

Share:
Copyright Sleepy Driver 2017. All rights reserved.