Quick hitters: Sleepless Nights A Place Who Loves

The rotating cast of characters that have played a part in shaping the sound of the Sleepless Nights is almost like a Halifax version of BSS. The core structure is there - currently it's Andrew Wallace, Jeffrey Pineau, Josh Poireau, Philip Clark and Trevor Murphy - but most of those people play in other bands and other talented friends have spent time on the road and in the studio with the band.

For familiar North Enders, this band has been a constantly evolving mass – growing from a slowed down trio to a six-piece juggernaut (even bigger live) – and over the last 5 years their sounds has shifted as much as the people that show up to play and that’s why the collection of free tracks they are giving away – literally a scan of Andrew’s hard drive for demos, live tracks and the occasional cover (with no volume control or mastering) – is so interesting. Sure, it may be odds and sods from a band most people haven’t heard off, but when it comes to a band as dynamic as Sleepless Nights, to me it’s more like a much needed time capsule.

There are some gems in this collection for sure. How often do you get to see a song encoded with the title, "matt's a dick aka coup d'etat demo feb 19th 2008" or see the band's creative lifecycle for a song (two demo versions of Way to Ruin Everything)? But more importantly, in today’s disposable media world, how often would you take the time to revisit local records from 5 years ago (Green Lights) or take the time to be nostalgic about a band you dig these days?

These are all great reasons to right-click > Save As but I could have saved us both time and just typed, Sleepless Nights are a terrific band that more people should listen to. Either way, there should be no way you don’t head over and grab these tracks. Oh, and in case that's not enough free music for you Scrooge, how about you check out their wonky cover of Daft Punk’s Oh Yeah.

MP3:: Sleepless Nights - Coup d'etat

MP3:: Sleepless Nights - Jeff's Guide (Jan. 2)

MYSPACE:: http://www.myspace.com/thesleeplessnights
BUY:: http://sleeplessnightsofhalifax.blogspot.com/

Labels: Canada, Halifax, Music