Yes, despite just recently entering my collection, technically this LP is now two years old. The 10th Anniversary of Sleep Party People took place in 2020. It’s wild to think that this album has reached ten, let alone a dozen years! Likewise, it’s hard to believe that the band has a handful of releases under their belt now.
It is just that forward-thinking when it comes to the sounds within.
Before we jump into the background and my words on the reissue, let’s take a look at my unboxing video:
OK… on to my deeper thoughts!
A Look At Sleep Party People
Sleep Party People is actually just one person, Brian Batz of Denmark. In addition to being a musician and multi-instrumentalist, Batz is a producer, composer, and mixing engineer.
Sleep Party People stands out for the unique bunny mask Batz dons in photo shoots and during live performances–the mask is featured on the cover art of this album. It, like the music, has a somewhat creepy element to it.
Yet there’s also a calm to its nature.
Live, Sleep Party People tends to expand beyond Batz to include friends, who all take on the bunny persona as well with matching masks. It’s a thematic element that translates well with the idea of it being a one-man-band yet having music that essentially requires multiple individuals to perform.
Reception & Post Sleep Party People
I think it was about 2012 that I stumbled onto Sleep Party People. The band was getting ready to release We Were Drifting On a Sad Song and I came across “A Dark God Heart” and fell in love with Batz’s strange vocals and the dreamy, somewhat ambient-meets-slowcore sounds. (The music is often described as dream pop, shoegaze, and post rock as well.)
I covered the NSFW video for “A Dark God Heart” back then, stating that “Sleep Party People may very well have created one of the best songs of 2012.” It’s a sentiment that still holds true.
After We Were Drifting On a Sad Song, Sleep Party People gave us a few more albums: Floating (2014), Lingering (2017), and Lingering Pt. 2 (2018).
I haven’t really given the newer stuff a solid listen, so I need to dig in a bit before feeling qualified to speak to any alterations or progressions to the band’s sound, but picking up the 10th Anniversary pressing has motivated me to want to explore a bit.
10th Anniversary Pressing on Joyful Noise Recordings
Let me just start by saying that I love this pressing. The cover looks great and the colored vinyl coordinates well with the colors found on the sleeve–something that irks me to no end if it doesn’t.
The pale gold vinyl sounds wonderful at both soft and loud volumes. I didn’t detect any errant surface noise.
It’s an album that makes me want to turn up the volume and lay down on the floor, closing my eyes while the sounds wash over me. Early favorites were “10 Feet Up” and “I’m Not Human At All”. In particular, there was something surreal and even more powerful in the “10 Feet Up” version Sleep Party People performed for The Copenhagen X Sessions:
Where before, I sought out the more upbeat and pop-drive tunes, I now find myself drawn to the more ambient side of the band. In particular, I’m loving “Everything Has an End”.
But it doesn’t end there. This album is packed with dreamy ambient sounds that are highly melodic and–despite being obscure and a little odd in their sound–quite calming.
Overall, the 10th Anniversary reissue of Sleep Party People is a wonderful addition to my collection, and I’m glad I stumbled upon it.
