Review Summary: Feel will make you feel one thing; disappointment.
Sleeping With Sirens are one of the more popular bands to emerge from the "scene" since their debut in 2009. The band has gained a cult following of 12 year old girls who worship the lead vocalist Kellin Quinn for his ridiculously high pitched vocals. Now while many music elitists wrote this band off as being another generic post-hardcore/pop-rock act, some of us found their first two albums to be enjoyable and dare I say, fun. Now it's 2013, and we're presented with "Feel", the bands third full-length effort. Does it live up to expectations built from it's predecessors? Absolutely not.
First off, any creativity that this band once had is gone. While the first two albums contained fast paced riffs, a more heavy type of drumming, and less emphasis on Kellin's croons, this album feels like one giant ballad. It's dulled down; a power chord driven snooze fest, filled with "emotional" lyrics and a never ending barrage of whiny vocals. This band was once talented all-around, but now they put all their faith in Kellin, and gave up instrumentally. The band has dropped the post-hardcore part of their sound entirely, and have resorted to a pop-rock/mainstream rock sound. The album is about as heavy as the feather featured on the album art. The guitars are boring and rarely do anything out of the ordinary. The exception being the heavier riff found on the song 'Congratulations', but this riff is played to death and becomes tedious quickly. The bass is audible, but pointless, as it never does anything but play along with the guitars. The drummer seems to be the only musician who cared enough to be interesting on this album, as he plays interesting fills and even some fast paced rhythms. Compared to their last efforts, the band has definitely chosen to regress in quality instrumentally.
Lyrically, they are more or less the same. Lyrics about love, family issues, and breakups are all present here. However; one thing has changed. Kellin Quinn certainly has gained an ego. Tracks like The Best There Ever Was and Congratulations showcase this perfectly. Lines like "Don't *** with us, we're the best there ever was", really made me scratch my head. Especially hearing them from the same guy singing about missing his daddy a few tracks prior.
One interesting point to be made here is the inclusion of various guest spots scattered throughout. Rapper Machine Gun Kelly, Shayley Bourget (formerly of Of Mice & Men), Chris Fronzak, and Matty Mullins all make appearances. Now let me say, all of the songs could have done without these guests. MGK practically ruined the track he appeared on, adding pointless and arrogant lyrics to an already generic song. Shayley is drowned out by instruments, and you can barely hear his 20 second appearance. Chris Fronzak contributes nothing but a generic screamed passage, adding to the awfulness of the cocky track he appears on. Matty Mullins' appearance is not bad by any means, but when him and Kellin are together, their voices seem to blend seamlessly, and his verse feels unnecessary.
Feel will make you feel one thing; disappointment. If you were ever a fan of their old work, or enjoyed any old song, look elsewhere for that same quality. Sleeping With Sirens have lost the creative and enjoyable touch that they once brought to their music. This album has put the nail in their coffin and I can only imagine they will split sooner or later, leaving Kellin Quinn to start his solo career.
