For some time now, I’ve felt that Midwest emo is a dying genre. While I still enjoy the occasional Title Fight song, the angst has lost some of its satisfaction for me. Maybe it’s age, or some lifestyle change, but when I listen to it now, I almost can’t resist an eye roll. That is, until I heard the new album by Sleeps While Walking, Sleeps II. The staples are still there, the lamenting vocals, the solemn yet heavy guitar, the overall washed-out sound, but there is something more mature about this record. It isn’t just sad for the sake of being sad; it tackles the emotion with purpose and refuses to give in or let go. This shows not only in the lyrics but also in the instrumentals. Taking some of the electronic flair of an elder-indie band like Grandaddy, the melancholic sound is tinged with a snide familiarity, the way that adulthood changes a bad day from world-ending to just another hurdle to get over. Sleeps II is a welcome fresh take, a natural next step to the depression-core of the 2010s. The band’s Instagram self-describes as “Midwest Post Emo Grungegaze or Something,” and what a beautiful something that is.
Born out of the Chicago underground a couple of years ago, the five-piece band has built up an impressive catalogue in no time. While their first self-titled EP was a great showcase of their style and versatility, the production quality on their latest release has absolutely exploded. For a shoegaze-leaning group, Sleeps II has a surprisingly crisp, full sound that really highlights the catchy vocals and the intricate guitar and keyboard melodies. Despite being relatively new on the scene, Sleeps While Walking has found its niche and run with it, creating something both distinct and familiar.
One of the most enticing features of this album has to be the unrelenting drums that cut through every track, keeping the energy up at a steady pace and filling out every space in the ever-present ‘wall of sound’. Nowhere is this more on display than on the third track, “Falling Backwards”. The song builds beautifully, kicking off with a hard, fast snare beat that holds a haunting guitar melody aloft before melting into one of the most compelling verses on the album. I couldn’t stop replaying the first minute of this song just to hear how perfectly it hits the timing. This track hits just as hard lyrically, eliciting that feeling of being stuck in a loop, the kind you know you shouldn’t be in but can’t seem to escape. The drums punctuate every line of the verses, emphasizing the content of the words.
That lyrical prowess is showcased best on the more acoustic-leaning “Nothing”. While deceptively simple, this song captures one of the most poignant moments of growing up, understanding your parents. With each verse, the focus shifts from the speaker himself to his father, then to his mother, all with the repeated line “…grown tired/ of a life left with desire”. While that classic punk rock “fuck you mom and dad” energy might never get old, this is something different, something devastatingly realistic that’s increasingly hard to find. There’s an authenticity to it that, while covering some difficult emotions, remains comforting on every listen.
That’s not to say Sleeps While Walking can’t absolutely rock your socks off, too; they have range. On “Sleeping,” the vocals take a back seat to some of the loudest, most headbanging guitar riffs on the album. Well, not so much a back seat but more of an instrumental seat, reminiscent of Deftones’ Chino Marino in the way they lay a droning blanket over the heavy strums and fills. Again, there is a richness to this track that couldn’t have been achieved with the production levels of their last record. It fills out every bit of the space it occupies, which really makes the sound stand out amongst its peers.
Sleeps II rocks most refreshingly. More than anything, this record does a beautiful job of embodying those quiet realizations of adulthood, the ones that hit out of nowhere in the most mundane moments. With nowhere to go, they settle into your bones like growing pains. While that might not sound so pleasant, the way Sleeps While Walking does it is deeply comforting. I very much look forward to seeing how this band further develops their sound and expands on the melancholic optimism that makes this record so unique. Give it a listen, feel something, and enjoy it.
Written by Jonah Cashel
