Sleepwalkers

Sleepwalkers emerged in 2013 when Austin and Michael York, the siblings who had fronted the indie pop outfit Duchess of York, joined forces with Richmond drummer-engineer Alex De Jong and bassist Brad Heath. The Richmond, Virginia quartet drew from a lineage of classic rock and pop figures that included Emitt Rhodes, the Kinks, and Michael McDonald while tracking their first album at De Jong’s White Star Sound facility. That debut, Greenwood Shade, surfaced in summer 2014 and earned widespread critical praise for its fusion of 1960s and 1970s psych and pop textures, rich vocal harmonies, and off-kilter melodies. The record developed a devoted following, appeared on multiple year-end lists, and prompted the band—after issuing a handful of independent releases—to sign with fellow Richmonder Matthew E. White’s Spacebomb Records. Two holiday singles arrived in 2016, followed in 2018 by the tracks “Wake Up” and “Reasons to Give Up in You,” both of which featured on the full-length Ages the next year.