Search - Japancakes :: Sleepy Strange

Beautiful country music from outer space.

reddirtgirl999 | Seattle, WA | 01/10/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I first heard "Soft N EZ" on Seattle's excellent local radio station, and bought the cd hoping that the rest of it would be just as lovely. I was not dissappointed. These songs are both ethereal and down-to-earth; if Martians had folk music, this would be it.The last song is a minor let-down, but since all the ones preceding are nearly perfect, I'm not complaining. This is a make-out record for the ages."

Sophomore slump? You must be kidding!

Michael Rittenberry | Nashville, Tennessee USA | 09/24/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Following a superb first album, and follow-up EP, THE SLEEPY STRANGE is an outright masterpiece from Georgia post-rockers Japancakes. Combining elements of ambient pop, country, classical, and even a little funk, this album has a little bit of everything for instrumental music lovers: uplifting twang in "Soft N Ez," a smooth laidback extended groove in "Vinyl Fever," and absolutely beautiful and haunting cello and pedal steel work in "This Year's Beat." If you're a Tortoise fan, check out this group... you shouldn't be disappointed!"

Country? No.

Jason Garland | Athens, GA | 02/02/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I'm intensley bothered by people who throw in the word "country" when trying to describe Japancakes' music--as if by simply using a pedal steel guitar one can transform any genre of music into "country" music. Do you refer to George Harrison's mid-sixties Beatles contributions as Indian music just because he uses a sitar? Or Uncle Tupelo's "Satan, Your Kingdom Must Come Down" as Greek because they use a bouzouki on the track? Of course not. So what about this music is even remotely country? Nothing, I tell you.



John Neff's pedal steel is prominent against the background of more traditional rock instruments, true--but Heather's cello is awesome, too--does that make this chamber music? Chamber music for rock quartet and pedal steel guitar, maybe?



Look, this is just lovely music played by wonderful musicians who take a motive or two and rework it for 10 minutes against a drone of one or two chords. Think of them as ragas, or variations on a theme. Neff should get credit for taking his instrument, the pedal steel, and stretching into a new sound world, proving how versatile the instrument REALLY is. Maybe country music has had a monopoly on the pedal steel for too long. (Not that Neff never uses it for country, because he does--see The Star Room Boys if you want to hear him go that route, and very competently.) Personally, I'm impressed with how intuitive this stuff sounds, how RIGHT it sounds, how much melody is in this stuff. Whether it turns you on or bores you silly, the fact is that this is great music regardless of your tastes.



Definitely not for everyone, but fans of instrumental music should at least explore this wonderfuly innovative take on post-rock."