Review Summary: A promising beginning.
From the opening notes of Sleep Weather’s debut ep
Two Wheels Spinning, it is clear that listeners are in for a moody, ominous affair. While it has become fairly common to combine various aspects of post-rock with emo music, there is a still an influx of bands who are breathing fresh air into a tired concept. Sleep Weather is one such band. Playing atmospheric emotional music in the vein of bands such as Frameworks or Old Grey, this four piece band out of Georgia has managed to put together four songs that, while not completely devoid of missteps, serve as a solid debut record.
Combining slowly burning, winding guitar work with animated harsh vocals,
Two Wheels Spinning begins memorably with “Grasoline”. Whereas similar records often attempt to bombard listeners as quickly as possible through frantic openers, Sleep Weather instead opt to introduce themselves through a brooding, atmospheric six minute track that encompasses the best of what they have to offer. The song finds itself in many different places throughout its entirety, building and building until a down tempo crescendo slowly fades out. It seems that straightforwardness is the backbone to the instrumentation, as one will not be wowed by technical prowess or flashy leads. But this does not mean that the instrumentation is boring. Constant tempo and time signature shifts keep listeners guessing, while perfectly intertwining guitar lines build and build upon each other in nearly every track. But that is not to say that every experiment with tempo and transitions reaches their full potential. The shift between the swung intro and driving verse in “Houses” sounds forced and sloppy, making for a challenging listen before making way to a melodically memorable ending.
Vocally, Sleep Weather predominantly use screaming vocals, but when they find themselves employing cleans, such as those found sprinkled throughout “Penny Aracade”, an interesting new dynamic is created that is absent on other tracks, making for a song that sounds as though it could be a different band entirely. While the vocals are more than often decipherable, there are more than a few times in which one would hope they were not, as lead singer Chris Branigan pens some rather obtuse lyrics, as evidenced by the opening lines in the album closer as Branigan screeches
“Does a flower bloom without being told to? / I cry without wanting to”
While this short ep is not without its flaws,
Two Wheels Spinning is definitely not a record to sleep on. Tight instrumentation coupled with emotional vocals make for a memorable debut that will without a doubt bring more focus on an up and coming young band.
