ALBUM REVIEW: “They Will Find You Here” by Sleepy Vikings

April 29. 2011 | By Frances Capell

Sleepy Vikings
They Will Find You Here
[New Granada]

If you’re anything like me, you’re probably searching for an album to which you can jump around your bedroom, burning relics of a failed relationship. Well, look no further. Tampa’s Sleepy Vikings have made it for you. Their debut album, They Will Find You Here, delivers tender, brooding, vocals, and noisy, jangly fits of guitar. Think Samantha Crane and the Midnight Shivers meets early Modest Mouse.

If given one word to describe Sleepy Vikings, I’d say they’re bittersweet. The lyrics are as morbid as the melodies are catchy. “Lovely bones floating down the river / all this time you thought you knew me better,” sings Tessa McKenna on “Calm” before the band leaps into a cathartic mess of noise. “Flashtag Tag” contains some great sing-and-clap-along moments portraying a country landscape set ablaze (see album cover). Each song balances soft, bleeding-heart reflection and frantic, toughen-you-up bursts of guitars and drums.

Sleepy Vikings may seem like just another band to lump into the ever-growing “indie-folk” genre and call it a day. However, I urge you to give They Will Find You Here a listen. These self-described “swamp stalkers” have something truly special. Or better yet, go see ‘em live. Their East Coast tour starts next Friday.

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