Sleepers

The seminal San Francisco punk band the Sleepers recorded an EP, single, and LP between 1978 and 1980 before imploding during its only tour. Former members moved on to such influential post-punk outfits as Flipper, Tuxedomoon, the Toiling Midgets, and American Music Club, significantly shaping a proudly pathetic sub-genre of underground rock. Collectors of hard-to-find official recordings and live bootleg tapes maintained the Sleepers' recorded legacy, but their work has long been unavailable to the general public. The Less an Object rectifies the situation with a disc that includes everything the group ever released plus a few previously unavailable bonus tracks. The group's lead vocalist, Ricky Williams, a longtime substance abuser who also suffered from chronic asthma, died in 1992. The Less an Object presents the case that the shamanistic frontman (who later worked with Flipper and the Toiling Midgets) was one of early American punk's pivotal (albeit infrequently acknowledged) talents. --Steven Stolder