After making a continually good impression on audiences in Green Bay, Oshkosh, and everywhere in between, The Sleepwalkers left the Fox Cities and made the move to Milwaukee in the summer of 2013. Once they arrived, the pop-rock quartet wasted little time building buzz in their adopted hometown with a flurry of local shows (not to mention a Daytrotter session) and one of Milwaukee’s most enjoyable front-to-back records of 2014, Lost My Mind In Stereo.
Strong Milwaukee outset aside, The Sleepwalkers’ production started petering out by the end of 2014, as things started picking up with The Midwestern Charm—the other band of Walkers members Connor La Mue and Ryan McCrary—of late, including a stop at SXSW earlier this month. However, after laying in a somewhat dormant state so far this year, The Sleepwalkers are roused and ready to return. Prior to a three-city, three-show weekend run playing in support of Miles Nielsen & The Rusted Hearts, the band released the first of what front man Ian Olvera says will be “a handful of mini-releases” as the band writes another full-length later this year.
The first batch—“Mortimer” and “Choose Your Own Ending”—shows two sides of The Sleepwalkers. “Mortimer” is an emotive pledge of friendship, accented with a dash of Springsteen-meets-Weakerthans sprinkled in. “Choose Your Own Ending” is closer to band’s distinct and timeless pop-rock sound, with driving percussion and chunky guitars. The two-song audio appetizer was recorded by Tony Anders at Studio H in Appleton and mastered by Justin Perkins of Mystery Room Mastering.
Hear these new songs and more when The Sleepwalkers play at Linneman’s Riverwest Inn on April 2, at Lyric Room (Green Bay) on April 3, and Cranky Pat’s (Neenah) on April 4.