"DEMON CLAW" - SLEEP SCHOOL [MUSIC]
If you're a regular reader of the Gelatinous Blog, you might have seen the first episode of Cake Away, our new video series. It featured a new act out of Portland, OR, called Sleep School, and coincidentally, their tune "Demon Claw" happens to be on the blog today. Check it out below.
They haven't been around for long, but Sleep School are having a good go of it so far. Last week they released their debut EP White Girl Wasted, which consists of four tracks of garage/psych rock goodness, and one folky closer in "Mas Rapido", although to be fair, the subject matter of that tune still supports the organized chaos and perpetual party set up by the preceding tracks. I got a chance to see Sleep School at the Touchy Feely Records launch party the other night -- they added another guitar for that performance, and it sounded way fuller than previous shows of theirs. Only time will tell if it was just a one-time thing or if it leads to an added member.
You can check out White Girl Wasted in its entirety on Bandcamp, and you can even download it for whatever you want to pay. For more info and news about Sleep School, you can follow them on Facebook.
GB! OCT2014 Mixtape by Sleep School
I think "Demon Claw" is technically the strongest track on White Girl Wasted -- it builds nicely, doesn't give away too much too soon, and doesn't drag, always introducing new elements. While the progression is pretty straightforward, the vocal melodies are really what strike me about this tune. I particularly enjoy the melody that starts at the third lines of the verses ("When you shook me out of bed in the morning" in the first verse for example). The second half is really where the tune starts to shine, though. The rhythm section drives it along, with a driving, ascending bass line. The icing on the cake, though, is the addition of shaker and hand claps to go along with the ending guitar riff, which isn't too shabby itself.
You can find "Demon Claw" as well as the rest of this month's featured tracks on the free download of the GB! October 2014 Mixtape, the latest in our monthly mixtape series. Come back and get it on October 31!