S6E266 - Big Thief 'Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You' with Chris O'Rourke and Rachael McNally (Sleepyhead)
Guitarist/vocalist Chris O'Rourke and drummer/vocalist Rachael McNally - two-thirds of the Boston band Sleepyhead - brings us a double record as intriguingly mysterious and expansive as its name: 'Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You' by Brooklyn...
Guitarist/vocalist Chris O'Rourke and drummer/vocalist Rachael McNally - two-thirds of the Boston band Sleepyhead - brings us a double record as intriguingly mysterious and expansive as its name: 'Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You' by Brooklyn indie rock band Big Thief. Anchored by the stunning voice and enigmatic songwriting of singer/guitarist Adrianne Lenker, it's an ambitious and weirdly absorbing collection of songs/sounds guaranteed to get under your skin.
Songs featured in this episode: Change - Big Thief (Live Glastonbury, 2022); New Alchemy - Sleepyhead; Simulation Swarm, Sparrow, UFOF, Dried Roses - Big Thief; Changes - David Bowie; Change - Big Thief; You Can Have It All - Yo La Tengo; Time Escaping, Spud Infinity, Certainty, Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You, Little Things - Big Thief; Hounds Of Love - Kate Bush; Flower Of Blood, Red Moon, No Reason, 12,000 Lines, Simulation Swarm - Big Thief; Kyoto - Phoebe Bridgers; Love Love Love, Blue Lightning - Big Thief; Pam and Eddie, Tony The Drunk Is A Thief - Sleepyhead
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Chris O'Rourke and Rachael McNally
Bandmates
Sleepyhead Bio
Sleepyhead recorded their sixth album, New Alchemy, at the legendary Boston area recording studio Q Division with esteemed producer and Q Division co-founder Jon Lupfer at the helm. The album was released August 19, 2022 as a digital download and via streaming platforms to be followed by a release on 12” vinyl LP. They plan to play as many shows as they can manage after that!
New Alchemy features Sleepyhead founders, drummer/vocalist Rachael McNally and guitarist/vocalist Chris O’Rourke as well as bassist/vocalist/keyboardist Derek van Beever, who joined the trio in 2004, a few years after the other two had moved to Boston. Many of the songs conjure the subtly infectious laissez-faire sounds of pre-Grunge Indie Rock the embrace early on in their career with a handful evoking classic Laurel Canyon Country-Rock and other 70’s FM staples. The title track to New Alchemy was inspired by the exploits of the New Alchemy Institute, a utopian endeavor founded by idealistic scientists in the 1970’s in Falmouth, Massachusetts, the hometown of Sleepyhead guitarist/vocalist Chris O’Rourke.
Sleepyhead was formed in a basement room at NYU's Brittany dorm in the fall of 1989 by drummer/vocalist Rachael McNally, bassist Mike Galinsky and guitarist/vocalist Chris O’Rourke. They released their first 7" single, the Kramer-produced "Play," in 1991 on Picture Book Artifact. Four full-length albums followed, on three different independent record labels. Punk Rock City USA was released by Slumberland Records in 1993, followed by Starduster (Hom…
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