Sleepy Mean

Michael Kantisch’s artwork is the kind that jumps straight out at you. An abundance of colours that floods the page and the walls, floors and the people housed within. It’s wonderfully radiant but at the same time somewhat disparaging, hiding what really lies within, making us lose track of place and time but also context and content.

Kantisch is the lead vocalist of new Toronto outfit Sleepy Mean, and his piece of work is a faithful semblance for the dynamic music the four-piece make. Transpondering, a seven-track collection released on July 26th, flies along on the same aforementioned principles, managing to be bold and vague, pensive and inviting, all at the same time.

On to the actual music then. Transpondering is a woozy tangle of country-ish crooning vocals, beaming guitar lines and adventurous spirit, all fused together with a heavy dose of bouyant garage-rock aesthetics that are impossible to fake, but that drag the listener deep in to the world of Sleepy Mean and all they have to offer.

Which is a hell of a lot. From the playful pop of Explorer Of and Narration, to the weightier, more impassioned jams of The Story and climatic closing track Bends Enormous, Transpondering is a record that takes the rich colours of its two-dimensional artwork and turns them in to songs that are romantic and urgent and wonderfully alive. - GoldFlakePaint

Indie rock with a jazz flair is how we would describe Sleepy Mean. Their latest release, Transpondering, is a solid album full of jamming guitars and mellow vocals. It’s hard to pick a favorite on this album but we’re drawn to ‘The Story.’ They describe themselves as four silly boys in their twenties but we’d call their music pretty serious stuff. Grab the album at a name your price option. - The Knife Fight

Discovered these guys from the always on point blog Gold Flake Paint and have been enjoying very much. Looking forward to when it drops next month. - HI54LOFI

Combining sharp indie rock angles with a mesmerizing laid-back delivery, Toronto's Sleepy Mean recently released their debut EP, Transpondering. The record's available on a name-your-price basis from their Bandcamp page. - Snob's Music

That was a great set at The Tiger Bar. Shimmering guitar-work coalesce amid a post-punk energy and haunting vocals making for a sound that's alternately brooding and jangly. A British indie-underground sound resurfaces, and is as relevant as it was several decades ago. Onwards and upwards for the band. - Lonely Vagabond