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| Source: @sunsleepermusic on Twitter |
Plop a couple of ice cubes into your glass of peach cordial and recline in the heat, as sun-blushed quintet from Salt Lake City, Sunsleeper, burst back into your headphones for the first time in three years. Following their prior EP release ('Stay the Same'), this alternative rock band returns with their first full-length, 'You Can Miss Something & Not Want It Back', encapsulating the same passion-tinged anguish they are known for.
Introductory track, 'Feel The Same', is melancholy and possesses an authenticity, evident in vocalist Jeffery Mudgett's serene words. The song lulls in tranquillity, allowing the lyricism to rise atop the dwindled guitars, while the next track, 'Soften Up' bases its focus more heavily on its chugging riffs (courtesy of Jeffery Mudgett, Matt Mascerenas and Cody Capener) and salient drum-work (Scott Schilling). 'I Hope You're Okay' reflects this style; the verses dynamically ebbing in order to allow the choruses to flow in a floral wave.
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| Source: 'Better Now' (Official Music Video) by Sunsleeper / youtube.com |
Solemn tracks like 'Souvenir' and 'Fading' bleach the album with an undeniable torment. The lyricism alone, 'Bodies, broken and shoddy', serves to shed light on the miserable underbelly of this album's content, despite the tropical instrumentation. 'Casual Mistakes' stomps along the gravel in a teenage-angst fashion, before oozing into solace in its bridge, 'Tucking away the mistruth in your head / Drinking away all the painted regret'. The outro chimes comfortably before channelling into the syrupy-sweet guitars of 'You Can't Please Everyone'. Trickling backing vocals and honeyed post-chorus melodies drench the eighth track in a falsified refuge. The content, however, is far from the glazed delivery.
Concluding tracks, 'Better Now' and 'Home' simply reinforce the duality of this album. 'You Can Miss Something & Not Want It Back' details journeys of love and loss, encompassing the emotions felt in conjunction to hardships. This band concocts a perfect realism among their lyrics, while displaying them in a heavenly package of divine vocals and blissful music, proving that they are more than worthy of being signed to Rude Records earlier this year.
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| Source: @sunsleepermusic on Twitter |
Sunsleeper are the embodiment of a sour-tipped ice cream: the harsh reality of their lyricism serves to poison your metaphorical tastebuds. You are unable to enjoy simply the velvety presentation of the ice cream without acknowledging the excruciating realities behind the songs that saturate the back of your tongue. You keep going back for more, though.
