Review Summary: Sleeping With Sirens' first foray into accoustic music remains one of the band's greatest - and most unexpected - musical achievements.
Picture this -
The year is 2012. Sleeping With Sirens had just recently released their acclaimed sophomore album, Let's Cheers to This, just a year after releasing their explosive debut. They were beginning to become one of the most popular bands in the early 2010's post-hardcore scene (whether you liked it or not), mostly thanks to their smash hits "If You Can't Hang," and "If I'm James Dean, You're Aubrey Hepburn." At the time, it may have been surprising to hear that their next release was going to be an entirely accoustic EP that contained two reworked songs from their debut - including the aforementioned "If I'm James Dean, You're Aubrey Hepburn." Fans may have been worried that their typical post-hardcore sound wouldn't translate well into softer, accoustic music. However, all these years later, it has become apparent that not only did Sleeping With Sirens have the musical chops to pull off such a radical genre change, but it has arguably done a better job at showcasing the band's talents than any other release of theirs since.
As was stated before, the EP contains two reworked songs off their debut album: "If I'm James Dean, You're Aubrey Hepburn," and "With Ears to See and Eyes to Hear." While both songs are memorable in their own way, neither song translated perfectly into an accoustic ballad. On the former, Quinn's voice is as excellent as it has ever been, but the instrumental accompaniment to the verses come across as a bit awkward due to the repetitive strumming of the same handful of accoustic guitar chords. "With Ears to See and Eyes to Hear" oddly has the opposite problem - the instrumentals do a wonderful job pairing with Quinn's vocal performance, but the problem here lies more with the songs lyrics. It can admittedly feel strange to hear the line: "Lie, liar you'll pay for your sins/Now, liar I know all the places you've been" in an accoustic setting. It is beyond clear that these lyrics were originally meant to be delivered in an angrier, more energetic way.
However, these two small nitpicks are really the only issues with this EP. The other three tracks are exclusive to this release, and aren't just highlights to this EP, but to Sleeping With Sirens' discography as a whole. The lyrical content is nothing new for the band, as all three songs resolve around themes of romance. Despite these songs featuring recycled themes, they feature some of the band's best songwriting to date. "Scene 2 - Roger Rabbit" in particular features some of Quinn's best lyrics:
"Nobody's gonna love you if you can't display a way to capture this
Nobody's gonna hold your hand and guide you through
No it's up for you to understand
Nobody's gonna feel your pain
When all is done, and it's time for you to walk away
So when you have today, you should say all that you have to say"
Kellin Quinn's vocal performance on IYWAMTWBYS is one of the best he's ever given. To those who have written off Quinn's vocals as "annoying" or "whiny," you may be remarkably surprised to see how much better they accompany accoustic ballads. His range is outstanding, and his falsetto is so impressive that it'll make you wish he used it more. This EP could've been completely forgettable if done with another vocalist at the helm, but Quinn doesn't just meet expectations, he greatly surpasses them.
It would be wonderful to see Sleeping With Sirens return to an accoustic sound in the future, because it honestly suits them wonderfully. Sure, they've released the occasional accoustic rendetion of a previously released song here-and-there, but IYWAMTWBYS is their one and only musical release entirely commited to the sound. The beautiful instrumentals, romantic songwritting, and Quinn's career-defining vocal performance all come together to make a remarkable EP, and one that I'm happy to revisit time and time again.
HITS: Scene 2 - Roger Rabbit, Scene 3 - Stomach Tied in Knots, Scene 4 - Don't You Ever Forget About Me
MISSES: N/A
FINAL SCORE: 4.4/5
