Great Northern – Sleepy Eepee / 2008 Eenie Meenie / 5 Tracks / http://www.myspace.com/greatnorthern / http://www.eeniemeenie.com /
Eenie Meenie has tagged this as “The Prequel For Trading Twilight For Daylightâ€, and these five tracks do a damn good job in giving individuals a good idea what Great Northern sounded like from 2003 to 2004. The dreamy brand of indie music that they play is given a rough form here. The first track on “Sleepy Eepie†is “Loose Endsâ€, and it blends together a very organic brand of vocals with an oscillating, inorganic type of sound. What results during “Loose Ends†is a track that finally coalesces into something more than its constituent parts about two and a half minutes in.
The bombastic sound of the band kicks the disc into high gear, and will get individuals involved in the rest of the disc’s tracks. “This Is A Problem†adds a little bit of grit into Great Northern’s sound, bouncing back and forth between adding hints of seventies rock or nineties alternative to the mix. “Summertime†takes the rock out of the equation and brings Great Northern’s output into something that is much more atmospheric than anything. It is when the act takes this tack I find myself most interested; the sheer amount of things that are going on during this track will ensure that listeners will be deconstructing the track for multiple listens.
The pomp that this shuffling track has puts it on a pedestal that is all its own; Great Northern were still as brilliant then as they were on their full-length. There may only be 21 minutes of music on “Sleepy Eepieâ€, but Great Northern’s distinct brand of indie rock will stay with listeners long after the disc ceases to spin. Give this disc a spin before you put in â€Trading Twilight for Daylightâ€; the band has tightened up their sound from this album to that one. However, this is not “garage†recordings of the band; the act is still very compelling here.
Top Track: Shakey
Rating: 6.6/10
