SLEEP‘s first new recordings in 20 years – the time since Dopesmoker was written – have begun to appear at record stores, and after checking it out, we can happily say they have not skipped a single bowl or even left the smoke cloud! As we could have only hoped, the 10-minute single, called “The Clarity,” is fueled with heavy spliff-riffs and the well-aged voice of Al Cisneros.
According to the band, “‘The Clarity’ is a lyrical follow-up to a lifetime of marijuana enjoyment.” It begins with a pulse that feels like the opening prayer to a session of full on amp worship, and continues with ominous prayers like:
Life complete…
The dealer is my refuge.Heavy, dry weight –
Hasheeshian smoked relief.
Now, at first sight of the plain, brown, stock vinyl sleeve I was a bit disappointed since SLEEP have always had great artwork accompanying their releases, and the online release had some pretty epic artwork (see Soundcloud above). After further inspection, however, I discovered that the vinyl itself was the artwork! And no, I’m not talking about no shitty, waste of money picture discs!!
Instead, the record is single-sided (doy, it’s a real single, and SLEEP don’t do no remixes) with the back featuring an amazing, textured etching of the “Marijuanaut” – a character that has become common to SLEEP’s imagery. This record feels amazing just to hold!
+++ (“The Clarity” back side of green pressing – pic from Discogs) +++
We would highly recommend getting your hands on one of these super limited pressings! The single is self-released (and distributed by Southern Lord), with 420 copies on green, 1,000 on black, and a fresh pressing of 1,500 on clear wax.
+++ (One of SLEEP’s Marijuanaut logos) +++