Sleepy Vikings

Sleepy Vikings craft an idiosyncratic indie pop sound that merges introspective, reverb-kissed guitar textures with drowsy, twangy vocals, a combination the group itself labels “Southern shoegaze.” After the dissolution of the stylistically kindred indie pop outfit Giddy-Up, Helicopter!, Sandi Streppone and Nicole Schleif joined forces with several additional players to launch Sleepy Vikings in Tampa, Florida during 2009. Although personnel fluctuated in the band’s initial phase, the roster had stabilized as a six-piece by the arrival of its first album, featuring Tessa McKenna on vocals and keyboards, Sandra Covin on guitar, Nicole Schleif on guitar, Julian Conner on vocals and guitar, Sandi Streppone on bass, and Ryann Slauson on drums. New Granada Records added Sleepy Vikings to its roster in 2010, and the group spent the remainder of that year on the road in anticipation of its label debut. A well-received appearance at Toronto’s NXNE Festival raised the band’s visibility when Paste Magazine singled it out among the event’s standout performers and later asked the musicians to lay down a pair of tracks for the publication’s online platform. Their first full-length album, They Will Find You Here, appeared on New Granada in spring 2011, prompting an East Coast tour in support of the record throughout the following summer.