Sleepy Kitty began as an experimental sound project for a class when frontwoman Paige Brubeck was enrolled as an undergraduate at School of The Art Institute Chicago in 2007. Brubeck and Evan Sult (ex-Harvey Danger) began layering field recordings of the "L" and Wicker Park street poets with '60s style harmonies and crashing drums. Sult was playing drums in the math-rock indie-pop band Bound Stems at the time, and Brubeck was playing guitar in the girl group trio Stiletto Attack, but as the two bonded over Pavement and The Fall, they began writing their own post-punk, show-tune inflected songs and Sleepy Kitty went from side project to full on band.
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| photo by Ted Barron |
Now two self-released EPs and a full length album later, "the duo plays up the '90s rock while still keeping it fresh." (Paste Magazine) Their live show is a whirlwind: Brubeck loops her vocals live, crafting walls of girl-group harmonies above the tube-driven blast of her vintage Super Reverb. Sult plays at the edge of the stage with her—when he can contain himself to his drum throne. Their 2011 album Infinity City (Euclid Records) transmits the power of their live show but reveals their canny control of pop architecture: “Gimme a Chantz!” opens with a theatrical flourish before bounding into a crowd of surging ’90s-era harmonies,and the Velvets/Fab Four mash note “Seventeen” revels in their influences. On their forthcoming release (as yet untitled) the band stays true to their love of dirty guitars, dreamy vocals and city sounds, and the songs progress like a collection of short stories. "Don't You Start" is a pop kiss-off, thick with spring reverb and vocal loops, "Godard Protagonist Inflection" channels the soft coo of Brigitte Bardot, while rumbling percussion and blistering guitars create a dark cinematic crescendo. Choir-like voices sing in wonder of a cryptozoologist's dedication to a search in "What Are You Gonna Do (When You Find Bigfoot)" and a '60s teenage dance party shows up with the France Gall inspired "Nothing Equals You." In support of Infinity City, Sleepy Kitty toured the Midwest and East Coast as well as opening for Neon Trees, Dresden Dolls, Deerhoof, and the inimitable Chuck Berry in their current hometown of St. Louis. A bang-up show in April 2012 at KC's Middle of the Map Festival (which featured bands like fun., Mates of State and Neon Indian) kicked off their summer early, so Sleepy Kitty is headed out for regional and East Coast dates to warm up their new album. They'll return home in August to hit the stage at LouFest along with The Flaming Lips, Dinosaur Jr. and Cults. While at home, Sleepy Kitty runs a screenprinting studio out of a 19th century warehouse where they specialize in handprinted show posters for bands and venues in St. Louis, Chicago and New York.
