The Big Sleep" is the title of a 1939 Raymond Chandler detective novel and 1946 film-noir adaptation featuring an iconic performance by Humphrey Bogart. On paper and celluloid, Chandler and director Howard Hawks work to keep the audience guessing at the eventual outcome of an intricately layered plot that features a large dose of murder. Rightly so, since “The Big Sleep” is a euphemism for “death.” As used in those works of so many decades past, the phrase takes on a slightly tongue-in-cheek air, playfully hinting at the dangers that await so many characters trapped within the narrative.

A similar spirit pervades the work of New York’s The Big Sleep - a trio of skilled musicians who specialize in dense compositions at once spontaneous and precise. The message from both the work of fiction and the band is the same: one would do well to take The Big Sleep seriously.

From the common inauspicious origin of two friends playing around in a tiny apartment with a keyboard and a guitar, the Big Sleep have developed one of the most impressive and dynamic live shows in the city. At long last, this sound has been captured on the band’s longawaited full-length, “Son Of The Tiger.” While fans of the band have been anticipating the album for quite some time, the Big Sleep has not been idle by any means.

We asked guitarist Danny Barria about the lengthy recording process: “We worked really closely with our producer, Kevin McMahon, to get the sounds we wanted on tape. We recorded in a few different studios in upstate New York and in the city. It took us a while to get to a point where we felt comfortable with the vocals. Once we had most of the tracks down, Eli Janney mixed most of the record, though Kevin also had a hand in it. We spent a lot of time getting the mixes to sound the way we wanted. We finished the last mix around New Year’s 2005/2006, and spent another little while getting the mastering just right. Every time we went into another phase I’d ask people if we were being big pains in the ass because of our pickiness in regards to the sound.”

Overly picky or not, the hard work and attention to detail has paid off handsomely. The resulting album is a great representation of the group’s sound that clearly expresses their many influences while never drifting toward derivation. Pieces of a diverse group of musical forebears bubble up throughout “Son of the Tiger”: a Zeppelinesque riff here, a droney touch of The Cure there, a dash of Funkadelic rhythm and T-Rex glam spread throughout. Any musician who has played in previous bands is likely to bring something of that experience along with them.

Bassist/keyboardist Sonya Balchandani was previously a member of The Hong Kong and Barria has been a member of Mahogany. “I’ve talked about music a lot with everyone in these bands, but it’s not the overt things we did that influenced us,” says Barria. “Both of those bands have really talented musicians, and you just see things you like or that you think are cool, approaches that are different from yours that you can consider when you’re in the practice space.”

Not all influences on a band need be musical. Barria has said before that he thinks his interest in history -- especially World War II -- has somehow influenced the music. “It’s hard to put it concisely,” he says. “But there’s something about the scale of the war, and, on the other hand, all the personal stories and all the emotions involved that I find really compelling and awe-inspiring. It’s hard to say how this would affect the music, but whatever it is that draws me to [history], it definitely influences what I do in the band with regards to the feelings that we try to evoke with the music.” Actually, that does seem pretty concise. In fact, Barria has hit on a rather apt description of his band: there’s something about the scale of The Big Sleep’s music --- live, on record, their sound in general. All the individual parts are passionately played in ways entirely compelling and awe-inspiring. It’s an album to be experienced, not simply heard, for the clarity of thought that’s gone into each and every moment is evident. Rare is the case that precision sounds so raw and electric.

Fortunately, The Big Sleep’s sonic achievement has not gone unnoticed. “As soon as we had finished mixing all the songs,” says Barria, “we started sending out those mixes to labels we were interested in and giving them to our friends and other bands. French Kiss was one of the labels we were into, and they came to check us out a few times. One thing led to another and we woke up in bed together the next morning.”

In an industry that often offers success to those that may not be the most deserving, it is refreshing to see a hardworking, innovative, and --- most importantly --- talented band like The Big Sleep get the chance to reap the benefits such a deal may bear. True to form, they’ll still take nothing for granted. According to Barria, “Once mastering was done and we had lined everything up with French Kiss, we had a lot of help from people like Johnny Beach [talent buyer for New York’s Bowery Ballroom and Mercury Lounge] in getting on really good bills and playing higher profile shows, just generally getting noticed a bit more. We’ve been practicing a lot in anticipation of the record release show and for the touring we’re planning to do behind the record. We really want people to come away from the shows feeling like they’ve experienced something special.”

While the Big Sleep remains a local phenomenon for the time being, their artistic and career trajectories suggest a larger audience beyond the five boroughs. Pretty soon, New York is going to have to learn to share The Big Sleep with the rest of the world.