Search - Gerbils :: Are You Sleepy

Are You Sleepy
Gerbils
Are You Sleepy
Genres: Alternative Rock, Pop, Rock
 
  •  Track Listings (11) - Disc #1

Athens, Georgia's Gerbils--Will Westbrook, Scott Spillane, and John D'Azzo--all play in extended lineups of Neutral Milk Hotel and Olivia Tremor Control. The Gerbils have their own sound, however, and it's a delectable one...  more »

     
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CD Details

All Artists: Gerbils
Title: Are You Sleepy
Members Wishing: 1
Total Copies: 0
Label: Hidden Agenda
Original Release Date: 6/24/1998
Re-Release Date: 9/7/1999
Genres: Alternative Rock, Pop, Rock
Style: Indie & Lo-Fi
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
UPC: 795306500629

Synopsis

Amazon.com essential recording
Athens, Georgia's Gerbils--Will Westbrook, Scott Spillane, and John D'Azzo--all play in extended lineups of Neutral Milk Hotel and Olivia Tremor Control. The Gerbils have their own sound, however, and it's a delectable one. Gushing with ecstatic, fuzzed-out, shambling, warm pop melody, the harmonies are sung at a ridiculously high pitch. The vocals sound unreal; the group consistently achieve Muppets in Space/ Menudo-boy registers that somehow sound really great. The band members are connoisseurs of lovingly deranged pop and borrow equally from late-'60s bubble-gum psychedelia, early-'70s Canterbury prog, and late-'80s bedroom-recorded strummy stuff. Sound levels are intentionally pushed well into the red, flavoring the songs with a wide range of premeditated distortion. The first tune alone, "Sunshine Soul," will propel you through your day, stuck on repeat play in your brain. Its sweet chorus, "Your sunshine soul, it seems to me like some melody," will add a lilt to your step, a smile to your face. --Mike McGonigal

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CD Reviews

Hmmm
11/03/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)

"If I may be frank (and I may), this is my favorite cd. For a sense of where I'm coming from, the artists which predominate in my collection are Built to Spill, Modest Mouse, Ween, Pavement, The Flaming Lips, and Radiohead, but my collection overall is quite extensive and varied. Yet, I like this album better than any other album I own. It's simple (in an aesthetic sense). It's pure. It's sweet. It's enduring. It's personal. It's just so damn friendly. Taste in music being how it is, I wouldn't suggest that this will be your favorite cd. But if you like your music unpretentious, you should at least listen to it and see what happens."
A gem.
Michael H. Schur | Los Angeles, CA | 09/06/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)

"Of all the Elephant 6-related bands, The Gerbils may be my favorite. This is a wonderful album that rewards you anew with repeat listenings. The Gerbils don't fall prey to either of E6's two biggest sources of listener alienation: endless sound collages that frustrate your desire for melody, or a sometimes- overwhelming debt to 60's-style Beach Boys-ish featherweight diddies. They write layered, interesting songs, perform them with instrumentation that grabs you and hangs on for dear life, and record them with wonderful production. Great songwriting, great lyrics, just plain great."
Fun, fun, fun songs
Eric San Juan | Brick, NJ USA | 04/29/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)

"Have you sucked on your helium today?Okay, maybe poking fun at the vocal stylings of this wonderfully loveable band isn't fair at all, but the first time you hear that voice you cannot help but think; what did this guy inhale?Once you get past that though, all there is to hear are the songs, and dreadfully fun songs they are. You haven't heard this branch of the indie-pop tree; not since your weird cousin showed you those four-track tapes he recorded when he was high.Yes, the drums sound like a toy drum kit. Yes, the guitars tinkle like Christmas chimes. Yes, the singer sounds like the demented, helium-sucking half-brother of Billy Corgan. Yes, they began life as part of the infamous Elephant 6 Collective.And yes, you will absolutely adore this wonderfully eclectic batch of slightly off-kilter pop songs about love being like glue and dinosaurs and ditching your friends when you go to Portastatic shows. Reach into those pockets and grab a copy. You'll either be overly annoyed that you did, but far more likely, you'll love yourself for it."