The Irish Times 10.01.01
HARD SLEEPER * * * *
Hard Sleeper
This debut outing from acclaimed Dublin graphic designer Peter Maybury is an engaging slice of dark electronica, and one that straddles a nebulous boundary between minimalist techno and American lo-fi. Maybury offers a spry twist on the ambient dance pioneered by Warp stalwarts Boards of Canada. Repeated listens expose deeper ambitions, however... Hard Sleeper exhibits a heartening zeal to push boundaries and challenge expectations.
Edward Power
The Event Guide 24.01.01 - 07.02.01
HARD SLEEPER
S/T [ Emigre ]
... There is an edgy paranoia to this music that veers from fractured ambient blasts to intense chaotic noise... Fragments of old analog synths, splashing Chinese cymbals and sinister bass noises function as sonic landmarks on a rail journey across an unfamiliar landscape, destination unknown but fearsome. The sound of what it might feel like to sleep on Saturn.
Lee Casey
Hot Press 14.03.01
HARD SLEEPER
'Hard Sleeper' [ Emigre ]
Let's be clear about one thing : Peter Maybury is one talented bastard. Not content with composing, performing and engineering the entirety of this album, he's also seen fit to take care of design and photography duties on the accompanying lusciously-produced 72-page book, and with the Emigre seal of approval to boot. The abstraction of the packaging is no superficial distraction, mind you - Maybury's experiments with form are applied with as much care to the core of the music as they are to its container. It's all densely-textured hedmusik for sure - ... by turns hypnotic and desperately unsettling. A fine headfuck if that's what you're angling for, Hard Sleeper's brand of horizontal academia will reward close listening.
James Kelleher
