The first snowflakes of the year are dancing in the wind when we meet up with The Sleeping Years on this cold Saturday in November. Of course it’s beautiful, but not exactly the kind of weather we are hoping for, as we have already done an outdoor session with The Hollows earlier on that freezing day. Singer and band mastermind Dale Grundle – you may also know him from his previous band Catchers – happily agrees to our ad-hoc-plan to stay inside. It takes a few words to convince the concierge but soon The Sleeping Years’ warm, melancholic folk pop unfolds in the empty dining room of their hotel, while outside the window pedestrians and motorists pass by on the snowy Gürtel and Europaplatz. The Sleeping Years play a more uptempo version of “You And Me Against The World”, a song about people drifting apart from each other and becoming isolated, which is in fact the main theme of their debut album “We’re Becoming Islands One By One”. As a contrast, there is a classic Viennese café next door, which is one of the few places where people still use to meet for hours and share stories and ideas. The Sleeping Years gather round a table and finally collect a deserved applause after having played “Setting Fire To Sleepy Towns”.


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