There The Open Spaces

Sleeping States is the result of one young man, Markland Starkie, working in a format he has sincere reservations about working in: "When I started Sleeping States I gave myself a set of rules becuase I had a real problem with singer/songwriters. I find the whole thing cheesy beyond belief." Markland told Dazed and Confused. The rules he laid out for himself were simple: no strummed acoustic guitars and only basic instrumentation. The results, heard here on There The Open Spaces, are hypnotic and riveting. Marklands voice floats atop modestly virtuosic noisy guitar work, seeking out the harmonies many vocalists avoid. Songs come to life before dissolving into quiet noise sections which still retain a melodic center.