Review Summary: Cinema Sleep want you to sing along, that much is clear.
Cinema Sleep are an anthemic five piece post-hardcore band out of Dayton, Ohio. The band was formed out of a previous lineup of the band The Paramedic. Four of five of the original members left The Paramedic, due to a change in musical direction, and formed Cinema Sleep. The circumstances behind the complete overhaul are questionable at best, but who cares? Cinema Sleep already have the train on the right rails with their debut EP, Make Your Way.
The EP starts out fittingly with single The Response, an appropriately titled anthem, blending Brady Reis' strong vocal harmonies, and a signature catchiness provided by the band, collectively. Cinema Sleep doesn't shy away from using piano, strings, light synth, or guitar solos throughout the EP, but The Response is the perfect example of the band writing a great song together, with feeling. Reis' lyrics capture the song's essence with the pre-chorus line:
"With your crippled voice
it's hard to speak
With your two black eyes
It's hard to see"
The EP continues with a bang as second single, Through This House, breaks through with another anthemic tune with predictable structure, but a very strong drum performance by Kevin Vincent. The lyrics written by Reis through the first two singles seem to fit the mood of the music naturally, and with extremely good tone and versatility, he is among the top of the game in heavy rock in terms of vocals. That is portrayed the best in the first two singles. In Lights to Shadows and In Dreams, he even shows a more gruff and aggressive side of his voice, without feeling forced. In fact, it looks to be a great addition to his arsenal in the future.
While the EP starts with a bang, the lackluster Take Me Home slows things down just a bit. This Hard Rock, Three Days Grace-y song sounds a bit out of place with a very predictable pace. While there is a guitar solo and prevelant bass, the song simply pales in comparison to the others on the EP.
The band seems to feed off of Reis more than anything else. In Dreams is a good way to end things. Led by Reis once again, the band flow with their ever present twinkly guitars, and even add an ethereal synth in the chorus for good measure. While Cinema Sleep's style isn't the most unique, it is certainly recognizable, and highly enjoyable.
Cinema Sleep does not shy away from writing anthemic songs, and why should they? They do it very well, and they do not exhaust themselves in Make Your Way. With very many hits, and few misses, Cinema Sleep have introduced themselves in an exciting flurry.
