It is rare, but it happens that a debut album can be considered a legacy. In the case of the four-member combo PARK BENCH SLEEPERS.
The songs were developed by Heiko Sauter and Jens Kreuzer, both from Freiburg im Breisgau, together. Once the songs were roughly structured, two more musicians joined in, contributing percussion, guitar, keyboard, and drums. They ended up with 15 songs and a band that would certainly have loved to play these songs live.
Unfortunately, Jens Kreuzer passed away in the summer of 2021, making this album a legacy, as he contributed significantly to it.
PARK BENCH SLEEPERS have created 15 pleasantly fluffy songs with this legacy, somewhere between indie pop, atmospheric (dark) pop, Brit-pop, and dream pop. Vocals and guitar are always clearly present, so it's not really music to drift away to. That's good, because the music is far too good for drifting away or even falling asleep afterwards.
It is an album whose music resonates, even if you come from a completely different corner, like I do.
Perhaps it is precisely this mix of present music and soft sounds that fits well with the season.
Perhaps it is the perfect production by Ray Davies (head of the English band Kinks).
Perhaps it is simply music that is not everyday for me, and that is exactly why it has managed to captivate me.
Whatever the case may be, it is an album that will find its friends and one that invites you to dream. And... who doesn't like to dream?
