Taking the best of Cold War–synth pop and mixing it with kraut influences, Umber Sleeping, mainly the project of Peter Tietjen, cuts a rug on the catchiest of catchy bloops and beats. Like some of my favorite synth bands from twenty years ago or so, like Pulsars or I Am Spoonbender (but without the mathy-ness of the latter), Umber Sleeping is easy to throw on and enjoy on any occasion. And if you’ve read any of my reviews ever, you probably know that I’m a sci-fi nut, so AT LAST YOU CAN FLY pretty much scratches that itch in all the right places. I mean, look at some of these track titles: “Where Is Neptune?,” “Atom,” “Starro” – OK, maybe it’s only a handful that point directly to sci-fi, but still, the music is totally all Isaac Asimov on us. Freaky future space colonies and that kind of jazz, set to music for mass consumption, likely individually packaged and portioned for maximum caloric efficiency on the intake. But that’s food, this is music. You won’t regret your decision to emigrate to a frontier planet. There’s even a track called “Dr. Monroe,” and if he doesn’t inspire confidence, then I don’t know, you may be lost to the cause. But hey, at least you’ve still got your Umber Sleeping tape, right? … Do you?
Umber Sleeping
Halfshell Records
-- Ryan Masteller
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