The Sleepy Jackson

There are only a handful of artists around today whose work could fairly be labelled near-genius material and here we have a local act offering us a collection of songs that are simply luminous in their beauty. Apparently working under the directive of a man with a brilliant ear for harmony -“ one Luoke Steele -“ a team of musicians including vocalists, violinists, violists, bowed bassists and trumpeters (to name a few) comprise The Sleepy Jackson. The simple synopsis of this EP is that pretty much every one of the tracks on Caffeine In The Morning Sun comes off as an understated classic. Think the pop sensibilities of The Lemonheads, but with more complexity, less schmaltz and lusher musicianship. Think Neil Young’s 1973 classic Harvest, delivered with the eccentricity of Beck’s non-mainstream label projects. There’s even a bit of a late 60s Beatles flair laced through Caffeine. What more need be said? This stuff is truly astounding.