Seven Dwarfs snickers aside, this “Sleepy” is an alt-pop-folk artist from Dallas on a mission to create something fresh from a batch of thoughtful, often quirky songs that began life as acoustic guitar and vocal demos. Inviting veteran indie alt-rock producer Salm Nourallah (Old 97s, The Damnwells, Nicholas Altobelli) to create a sonic landscape full of dreamy ambiences, edgy beats, driving grooves and jangling and swaying guitars was an inspired stroke of the creative muse for the most part.
The instrumentation makes the 12 track collection engaging, quirky and unpredictable – but the constant filter on Zuhoski’s laid back vocals takes some of the potential emotion away and becomes a bit of a distraction after a while. Not sure if it’s a coincidence but there’s something seriously cool and trippy about an artist named “Sleepy” whose most memorable songs are titled “Asleep for a Year,” “Daydream” and “Hate to Sleep”!