gullbuy music review

Drowsy

title

Harmless & Careless Me b-w Shaa

label

FatCat

format
7inch

Drowsy This is among the first in a series of 7inchs on the Fat Cat label releasing demos of new bands.

This 3 -track single is exquisite. If you like dreamy 60s influenced lo-fi pop-- of the kind you might find on the Earworm or Acuarela labels. Despite the production limitations on this demo, Drowsy comes across as neatly settled between the sounds of Syd Barrett, Alex Chilton, or Robert Wyatt. The first two tracks on the A side include guitar, vocals, and the sound of a distant piano giving an ethereal nature to the recording. For me, the stand out track here is the B-side 'Shaa' as it is firmly influenced by (Matching Mole and solo period) Robert Wyatt, the track has a spiky phased out guitar and drum sound, with really high-pitched echoey vocals. If you love Robert Wyatt's spacier songs, you'll enjoy DROWSY.

'Drowsy is a 19-year-old singer/songwriter from Finland. Originally sent to us as a demo, 'Harmless' is Drowsy's debut single, and provides a neat introduction to his gently skewed take on pop. Taking an immediate, lo-fi approach, at times reminiscent of the raw simplicity of The Pastels, at others leaning towards the stark reverberation of Galaxie 500, three tracks occupy their own separate space yet are inextricably linked; Drowsy's general demeanour falls somewhere between the melancholic vision of Smog and the post-psychedelic haze inhabited by the likes of Syd Barrett, Alex Chilton or Robert Wyatt' -- From the Fat Cat website.

---George F. Kilgoar III, August 20, 2002