The oddly named folk-rock group won’t be putting me to sleep anytime soon. The Atlanta group carries influences from Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes, and City and Colour alike while coming into their own. They face the challenge of breaking out in a heavily saturated scene of bands imitating the aforementioned influences, and they seek to do that through the release of Summer, Hither through their new label Autumn and Colour Records. The new five song EP is now available worldwide through digital outlets.

The EP gets things started with the harmony-laden title track. The whole EP carries beautiful harmonies, but they waste no time in letting us know in a very prominent way what drives their sound on this at times pensive, yet peppy opening track. “Morning Song” plays like a banjo-strumming classic one would hear whilst waking up in the middle of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The optimistic nature of the track is just enough to keep the melodies to doing the opposite of what you’d expect a morning-themed song to do. “Nature’s Hymn” is the most rocking track yet, carrying on the optimistic nature (no pun intended) of the previous track. While somewhat repetitive (we are told many times of “the song that rises”) its a fun track that makes full use of nature metaphors. “Reason to Hope” carries on the vibe of the previous track with an opening cry of “I see the sun coming up!” The song takes a mostly subdued route, with meandering banjo, guitar, and xylophone popping up from time to time. The hipster coffee-shop/bar vibe is what comes to mind. The EP ends with the beautiful, simplistic “Being Small” which carries more of a traditional folk vibe. “I remember being small / I remember you most of all” they croon. A stomp-clap finale brings the EP to a fitting crescendo.

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Sleepy Turtles are a talented band, but face the obstacle of being on a small platform in a huge market. We can hope that one day their perseverance will pay off!

Score: 3.5/5

Sleepy Turtles

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