Sleepy Sun - 'Embrace' (ATP Recordings) Released 11/05/09

When the great psych-rock revival kicked off a few years ago, it counted amongst its ranks bands intent on updating the out-there oeuvre of various vintage dope-addled decibel hogs. This debut from Sleepy Sun showcases how, in small but significant ways, things have changed since.

The youthful six-piece from San Francisco have decided to skip time-travelling through the musty annals of late 60’s/early 70’s hard rock, opting instead to cop their moves from more easily accessible sources. ‘Embrace’ is the sound of a band audibly indebted to their like-minded, more seasoned contemporaries – more Black Mountain than Black Sabbath, and more likely to be spotted gripping ‘Blue Cathedral’ by Comets on Fire than any rare vinyl by Blue Cheer.

At its worst, the reliance on second-hand reference points could lead to a paucity of original thought and authenticity akin to learning the Highlife lexicon by listening to Vampire Weekend. The band’s self-consciously far-out motto underlines this risk – it’s doubtful whether the originators of mind-bending, inner space surfing amp abuse bothered to barf out “let’s get weird” every time a spot of hazy-eyed levitation was called for, as it’s likely they were too busy to map out previously unchartered territories to revert to such knowingly wacky moves.

Thankfully, Sleepy Sun have enough class and ideas to rise above the unpromising premise. Sure, both woozy opener ‘New Age’ and the commendably hypnotic, cowbell-clanging workout ‘White Dove’ sound somewhat like heavier retreads of Black Mountain’s Can-worshipping ‘Druganaut’. But they’re also undeniably exciting, a disorientating cavalcade of mountain-toppling Tony Iommi riffs, sweet melody and whooshing space cadet manoeuvres. The genuinely odd ‘Red/Black’, meanwhile, carries a strong whiff of Comets on Fire careering erratically through different time signatures, before crashing into a cacophonous coda that resembles sloppy drunk Stooges bashing out the dumbest riff they can manage in their hopelessly debilitated state.

Things get even better as the band gallop further away from easily identifiable sources. The laidback ‘Lord’ thuds and sways unsteadily like Neil Young jamming with Dead Meadow, but doesn’t really sound like either, whilst ‘Snow Goddess’ balances a keening, high-pitched loveliness My Morning Jacket would be pleased to call their own with an extended cruise through a Comets on Fire-style FX storm. The uncluttered ‘Duet with the Northern Sky’ stands out from its name-dropping surroundings by sounding like no one but Sleepy Sun.