If ever a band was aptly named then this it is this one, as what we have here is music which is designed to send you to the land of nod and should come with a warning label saying not to be played when driving a car or operating heavy machinery. This is their sixth full-length studio albums since being formed in Norway by formed by Oliver and Svein Kersbergen in 1994, while they have also worked with artists such as Judy Dyble and Nik Turner. There are multiple guests on this album, such as Kjetil Manheim (Mayhem, Order, Big Robot), Sandy Dedrick of 60s sunshine pop band Free Design, and Mark Refoy of Spacemen 3 and Spiritualized, with everyone working together to create something which borders on New Age/Ambient with just the complex layering of all the sounds stopping it from stepping full blown into that territory.

The major issue with this style of music is that one really must be in the mood to receive it, and the first time I played this was during the day and I just did not enjoy it at all and was hoping it would soon finish (11 songs, 45 minutes). However, playing it when in a more relaxed state of mind and on headphones really allowed me to get inside the music which is designed to not necessarily have us drift away but certainly allow us to gently relax and let the stresses of the day just fall off us. This is not something which can be played where there is activity, and I can imagine this being played in a meditation suite, yet there is more taking place than “just” soothing sounds, and there is a great deal of instrumentation used within the layers (which is always predominantly keyboard based) and we even get vocals on “Falling In Love” where they change the style into a full-blown song. Interesting and enjoyable, just don’t play it when falling asleep could put you or others in danger.

Rating: 7/10

Links:
https://www.sleepyard.com/
https://www.apollonrecords.no/