Sleepspent is lead by 21-year-old songwriter and guitarist Austin North, who began performing as a UC San Diego student before eventually returning to his hometown of El Paso to form the band with friend and co-writer, Aaron Quintanilla.
The band — now a trio with Grant Gonzalez on bass and Josh Mendoza on drums — released their debut EP, It’s Better If You Don’t Speak or Think, back in May via Slow Start Records, which was produced by Chris Common (Minus the Bear, Chelsea Wolfe, Le Butcherettes).
While North’s younger years were spent studying jazz guitar wraps — which helps lay a solid technical foundation — ultimately, Sleepspent songs exist to make you feel. “They’re more about whatever emotion and feeling they bring about in people,” he says. “I write them to make people feel and interpret my own musings rather than to have them be relatable.”
Today, we are ecstatic to bring you a new song from Sleepspent — this one titled “California.” If you are unfamiliar with the band until now, this is also a great place to start. It’s got technical aspects, but also dreamy instrumentation and vocals that are reminiscent of Turnover in it’s own unique way. It’s quiet, loud, and catchy all blended together to make a pleasure listen.
“‘California’ came from a place of desperation, from a feeling of being trapped in a painful and hopeless situation. I’ve suffered with mental health issues for years now, and have been in some situations that have made my struggle much more difficult. This song is a reflection of those feelings as they escalated, and I feel it shows a very personal experience of mine that happened in California in a way that sheds light on the struggles people with mental illness go through,” explains Austin North of Sleepspent. “I’ve come to the understanding that, as a close friend put it, being an artist is to be vulnerable, and it is definitely cathartic sharing these personal feelings with others, and I hope to be at least a small part of opening a dialogue of people sharing and feeling unashamed of these experiences. The music itself came from my current interest in both jazz guitar and music with a groove, and I think the urgency that comes from the choruses and the bridge contrasts with the verses to mimic the urgency of anxiety, mania and overall feelings on both dangerous extremes, good and bad.”
If you like what you hear from Sleepsent and their track “California,” you can keep up with them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. In addition, they are currently on tour — you can find their upcoming tour dates below.
11/10/2018: El Paso, TX @ Lucchese East
11/11/2018: Albuquerque, NM @ Moonlight Lounge
11/13/2018: Denver, CO @ Seventh Circle
11/14/2018: Fort Collins, CO @ Pinball Jones
11/15/2018: Omaha, NE @ The B Bar
11/17/2018: Kansas City, KS @ House Show
11/18/2018: Oklahoma City, OK @ The Root
11/19/2018: Amarillo, TX @ The 806
11/20/2018: Lubbock, TX @ Downtown Social Club
11/24/2018: Tucson, AZ @ House Show
11/25/2018: Indio, CA @ Club 5
11/30/2018: Reno, NV @ St. James Infirmary
12/01/2018: Fallon, NV @ The Telegraph
12/02/2018: Las Vegas, NV @ The Beauty Bar
12/04/2018: Tucson, AZ @ Monterey Court
12/05/2018: Pheonix, AZ @ The Lunchbox
12/06/2018: Bisbee, AZ @ The Quarry