The Sleepy Jackson

Unfeasibly large bands are, it would seem, the new power trios. Though at their core a four piece, the total number of musicians featured on this mini-album comes in at around 25.

It shows, too, taking the basic alt country blueprint off in a number of directions. ‘Sunkids’ features a massed, Polyphonic style vocal over a dreamy groove that could come straight off the Avalanches album. It’s followed by the simple, harmony-drenched ‘Now The Spirit Drags The Pack’. Which is followed by the Beatles go hoe down of ‘Caffeine In The Morning Sun’.

The Sleepy Jackson is that kind of album: a touch unfocused, sprawling (especially given that it’s only twenty odd minutes long) but never less than enthralling and stuffed full of the kind of maverick spirit that has characterised so much Australian music of recent years. Intriguing.