PRESS
HYBRID MUSIC
By L. Keane
Published: 02/2008
.... This is classic alt.country goodness with a unique college rock sensibility that makes for some extremely fine listening. Whether you want to call them fiddles or violins, they still sound good, and so does everything else that Sleeper Car has to offer. ---------[ Full Review]
30music.com
By Matthew Austin
Published: 2007
Americana is a dicey proposition for a listener. Is the band just going to recycle screeching violins, whining pedal steel and twangy vocals and paste it onto a standard indie rock template? Can they transcend a century of blues, folk and country traditions and not come off as a bad carbon copy? Are they going to have the musicianship to pull it off? ... ---------[ Find Out More]
neufutur magazine
Published: January 15, 2008
“Lay It Down” is the first track on Sleeper Car’s “Love & Anxiety”m, and the use of strings during this track imbues the track with a folksy sound not far removed with that put out by a Banhart. However, Sleeper Car takes a different tack during “I Won’t Break Down”. During this track, the band unites the aforementioned folk style with an early country / bluegrass hybrd that, when all parts are taken together, result in a very current and contemporary sound. The second track on the disc is “I Won’t Break Down” and it gives the spotlight to the instrumentation. Where it was a strong but not central part of “Lay It Down”, the renewed focus on the instrumentation during “I Won’t Break Down” shows that all parts of Sleeper Car are equally strong. By keeping all of the tracks on “Love & Anxiety” within the three to four minute length, the band is able to inculcate listeners into the full gamut of sounds and genres available to Sleeper Car.... ---------[ Source]
Illinois Entertainer
By Patrick Conlan
Published: October 31, 2007
"On Love & Anxiety, Sleeper Car present another classic collection of winsome reflections and pensive sentiments swathed in gently swaying, western-touched country pop. Their lavish, lush arrangements are fully intact on “Caliber Eyes” and “Lay It Down,” as a bristling harmonica kicks against keening strings and tender acoustic guitar. “Anti Climactic Girl” has endless charm as a weeping violin swells through a stately rhythm and evocative reminiscence." ---------[ Source]
Wonka Vision Reviews Sleeper Car
Published: July 2, 2007
Chicago’s Sleeper Car focuses on some of the Old West-style, with their horseshoe fonts and yellowed grainy photos. This isn’t exactly gun-slinging music, but more salt of the earth. Sleeper Car features guitar picks of The Byrds with gutsy rock similar to Memphis’ Lucero. Vocalist Michael Musikanto’s passionate whines highlight this folk-Americana hybrid, especially on “Lay It Down.” The song profiles a heavy violin melody with a rambunctious beat and the verses are narrative in nature. ---------[ Read Full Review]
Cleveland Scene (Exposed Roots)
By Michael Gallucci
Published: September 19, 2007
Chicago’s Sleeper Car bends alt-country expectations on its second album, Love & Anxiety. The fiddles and pedal steel add twang, but the band’s real forte is its commitment to a folk-rock tradition that stretches all the way back to the ’60s. All five guys (including the excellently named Tie Die Charlie) plant roots in a songbook that nods to Dylan, the Byrds, and, by extension, Woody Guthrie. That’s not to say they sound anything at all like any of them, but Sleeper Car’s Americana aesthetic paints a timeless portrait of wide-open spaces and endless highways.---------[ Source]
Illinois Entertainer
Published: December 29, 2006
"As a musical blueprint, folk infused with country and jazz sounds straightforward; yet pick any Sleeper Car track and you will be rewarded with a richly textured sonic tapestry of shimmering melodies bursting with intricately arranged instrumentation. Delicate brushes of violin, tingling pedal steel, jangly acoustic guitar, and gorgeous, yearning vocal harmonies blend into a genuinely intoxicating sound. If I could only listen to one song this month, the title track from Shy Me (Subrosa) would be it."
- Patrick Conlan, Illinois Entertainer
Indie Launchpad
posted by Colin
"Conclusion : I have to admit, had I see this album on the shelves of a record store, I would probably discounted it in an instant. It's so satisfying then to be able to delight in finding another gem, from a genre that I'm suddenly becoming quite a fan of." ---------[ Read Full Review]
Read Junk
Reviewer: Adam Coozer
"Lyrics are more thoughtful than the usual lonesome desert highway crap, and the production is warm and lush."
Metro Spirit
BY RICH MCCRACKEN II
AUGUSTA, GA. - The band Sleeper Car reminds me of the Flying Burrito Brothers and the Marshall Tucker Band. This culmination of steel guitar and fiddle with acoustic style and impressive lyrics on "Love and Anxiety" is almost like folk music — but with more of a rock 'n' roll sound. You can imagine hearing this band on the contemporary soft rock channels on your radio and playing on the late night shows or in rotation on VH1 and MTV.
The song "I Won't Break Down" has a very folk rock acoustic sound with good 12-string playing at the beginning of this song. The guitar has a muddy tone that fits the tune perfectly. Though the music here seems to lean towards folk rock, you can still hear elements of classic rock bands in these songs. In additon, the lyrics in each piece of music are clear and fit the track being played.
"Hold Me Now" starts out acoustically and seems to have a snare drum played with brushes and violin accompaniment along with steel guitar in the background. The piano on this track reminds me of a 10CC song. The melody of the tune creates a new contemporary folksy sound that is radio-friendly.
"Caliper Eyes" has a really laid back sound with the steel guitar and organ setting the mood. A violin solo toward the middle adds a nice touch to round it off. The more I listen to this particular song, the more it develops into possibly my favorite track on "Love and Anxiety." It's very radio-friendly and well structured with compelling lyrics.
WGN
"eclectic and original; an enjoyable musical journey" Jeff Hoover WGN Producer
CD Baby (Editors Pick)
You know that a band has hit a musical genius vein when you can feel their music throughout your entire body- when shivers and shudders and gooseflesh come over you before you know what hit you. Sleeper Car is just such a band. Perfecting the alt country genre with the musical weight and influence of Ryan Adams, Bright Eyes and Wilco, this get-up astounds the ear with a startling balance of lush and atmospheric backdrops and simple, country-born, fiddling jangle. When the aching sounds of the countryside are mixed with this almost emo-like approach, pushed ahead by vocals that cry more than sing, you know that "Shy Me" has hit the jackpot. This one is a clear winner.
The Onion
Published: February 9, 2007
“Depending on which song Sleeper Car starts its set with, it may appear to be a country act, a folk group, or a band of blues revivalists. Eventually, the Chicago group will sound like all and none of those things, exhibiting the range and skill of a traditional-leaning jam band compacted into concise, fluid songs that don’t rely on clichés.”
- Madison City Editor of The Onion, Scott Gordon