SleeperSound’s lush yet disconcerting soundscape was forged by Dave D’Antonio, a Milwaukee-by-way-of-Chicago vocalist, guitarist and keyboardist, “to invoke the desire to awaken ourselves gradually and ajar from existential slumbers that make us aloof to each other and our world.” That’s according to press materials for in medias res, the new six-song album that follows the 2016 Milwaukee-based quartet’s Pilots | Passengers | Portals EP. Listening to this 32-minute excursion into the deeper reaches of dreamy post-rock and experimental prog, you might be tempted to draw comparisons to Television and Mission of Burma, but SleeperSound scores on its own merits. From the muted-pop of opener “Give to Time” to “Gravity Well” (a sweet-sounding plea for immortality punctuated by simple guitars and an Italian couplet) to the death-is-inevitable haunting finale “Error Tape,” in medias res maintains a melancholic steadfastness that will leave attentive listeners transfixed — and slightly scarred.
SleeperSound will perform its video-enhanced live show at Circle-A Café on Dec. 14.
