Vikings from Florida?
OK, we’ll bite.
Sleepy Vikings, a Tampa-based alternative-rock band featuring openly gay members, will swing through town June 19 in support of their debut album, “They Will Find You Here.”
The group took over a year to record the album. (For all you non-musicians out there, that’s kind of a long time.)
Sandra Colvin, one of the band’s guitar players (there are three) and the newest member of the band, joined the group just as recording sessions for the album were being finished.
“I came in after the previous guitar player’s parts were recorded,” she said. “I met the bass player at a café and we sort of struck up a conversation and she asked me if I played guitar because they were looking for new guitar players. She asked me, ‘Are you any good?’ I said, ‘I’m pretty good.’ I exchanged with them some MP3s of my playing and we had a little tryout. We played together and it just meshed really well. I was really excited because they are just great musicians. It’s a great pleasure to play with them.”
As one listens to the moody, atmospheric alt-rock on “They Will Find You Here,” it’s hard to imagine Sleepy Vikings coming out of the land of beaches, sunshine and frozen drinks c. 2011. They could have easily fit in somewhere in Minneapolis or Chicago c. 1992. But we guess that’s the point, right?
“Each song has a different theme on this record, but there is an underlying thread to the songs and I would say that it’s sadness and loss,” Colvin said.
Yes! Sweet melancholy …
The band describes its sound as “Southern shoegaze,” but don’t get too fixated on that label, as the Sleepy Vikings are probably planning their next artistic move to defy expectations as you are reading this.
“Each person in the band comes from a different place musically, which is what really is exciting about our music,” Colvin said. “Each person has a set of influences that sometimes overlaps the other members of the band but there are some distinctions. I would say the sound is reminiscent of Sonic Youth and Pavement — that wall of guitar sound that happens. There is some British and some shoegaze influence as well as some ’80s influence. I think the confluence of influences brings about the band’s unique sound.”
“They Will Find You Here” is available in stores and online. Sleepy Vikings perform 8 p.m. at Kung Fu Necktie, 1248 N. Front St. For more information, visit www.sleepyvikings.com or call 215-291-4919.