We're surrounded by color and light, we don't even know it.
Sleeping at Last, “Levels of Light”
Hailing from Wheaton, Illinois, Sleeping at Last first garnered national attention under the tutelage of Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan. Corgan, a Chicago native, caught a set by the group at famed rock club The Metro and took them under his wing, teaching them to wiggle through the sometimes murky mainstream music industry. Through Corgan, the group eventually landed a deal with major label Interscope, who released 2003's Ghosts. “Say,” the record's lead single, topped Fuse's popular Oven Fresh countdown show; “Quicksand,” from 2006's self-released Keep No Score, was used in the season three premiere of Grey's Anatomy, and the band has toured extensively with groups as varied as Switchfoot, Yellowcard and Corgan's post-Pumpkins group Zwan.
But Sleeping at Last—whose tight, melodic sound echoes against the more experimental edges of modern alternative rock—taps influences more diverse than the band’s résumé may suggest; on Keep No Scores' “Umbrellas,” lead singer Ryan O'Neal channels Sigur Rós' Jónsi Birgisson as he whispers with weakened charm over chipping acoustic guitars and brushed drums courtesy of Dan Perdue and Ryan's brother Chad O'Neal. Corgan's influence is apparent in some of the growling guitar work and throat-tightening melodies, but Sleeping at Last rests more comfortably in the broody, atmospheric beds made by OK Computer-era Radiohead. Unlike that band, though, whose digital webs of paranoia tend to swallow hope whole, O'Neal crafts sky-reaching melodies girded by the swelling orchestration of his bandmates. Consider it the artier edge of alternative.
Encouraged by annual Christmas shows that found the group backed by a string quartet, Sleeping at Last will be joined by members of the Calvin Orchestra for their performance at the Chapel on September 30.
-Marty Garner
