Review Summary: This is an excellent album that should be checked out by both fans of the band and new comers who have heard about the band and want to check out who they are, the change in sound suits them well and each song is worth listening to and the album shows the
Sleeping With Sirens have often been described as the hardest working band at the minute and rightly so, over the course of four years they have released 3 albums, on each one changing their sound a little so that they are recognizable but never stale or old and a very successful and superbly crafted acoustic EP and all of this has led to them rising through the ranks to sell out shows in huge venues as well as selling hundreds of thousands of albums.
Typically described as being post-hardcore on their previous two albums, they have changed the dynamic of their sound to create a more classic rock and roll feel with elements of electronics and Kellin Quinn's vocals still being similar to their previous releases but still very strong and never annoying, including less breakdowns and less harsh vocals than before, you get the feeling that Sleeping With Sirens have set out to shake things up a bit and evolve their sound on their latest album Feel and I say well done to them, they have managed to change the dynamics of their classic sound and evolve whilst also retaining a familiar feeling to the songs they have crafted and the guest stars that they have on such as Matty Mullins of Memphis May Fire and Machine Gun Kelly make up two of the four guest appearances on the album and all of them add their own unique and strong contribution to the songs on the album to make it all the more exciting.
Things start with the title track Feel and, just like Can You Feel My Heart on Bring Me The Horizon's Sempiternal, introduces the listener to the new direction that the band are heading in and will be the decisive track on the album, some may like it and decide to continue on listening and I recommend you do, or some will choose to leave the album now and return to their older material whilst very good material, would be a mistake to leave the album here. Here We Go and Free Now are fantastic slices of pop rock, fast and frantic which pack an adrenaline punch with fast guitars and vocals and talk about themes of lost love with Kellin providing an impressive vocal range and depth that hasn't been heard from him before.
After these first two tracks are the first three of the four guest appearances and up first is Machine Gun Kelly, a rapper and hip-hop artist who oddly doesn't feel out place on the song, things start slowly at first but once it hits the minute and a half point things pick up and it becomes a fantastic song and Machine Gun Kelly provides a strong contribution along with Kellin who provides some great rapping skills along with him, Kellin often uploads rap tracks to his personal youtube channel. I'll Take You There which features Shayley Bourget formerly from Of Mice & Men and part of Dayshell isn't as good as Alone with Machine Gun Kelly is still worth a listen and Shayley doesn't detract from the song in anyway but their is a feeling that I'll Take You There just isn't as strong as the tracks that proceeded it. Rounding off the guest contributions for now is The Best There Ever Was which features Fronz from Atilla, immediately their is a change of pace on this song, starting off with a hard rock riff and Kellin returning to growled vocals, this is a really fun song and is definitely one of the highlights of the album and Fronz provides an edge with his deathcore style vocals which are very listenable compared to most deathcore artists.
We have all heard Low by now so I won't go into much detail about the song but it is very good and one that shows the new rock and roll direction they are going in and should be heard by both fans of the band and new comers who want and easy introduction to the world of Sleeping With Sirens. Congratulations which follows Low features Matty Mullins of Memphis May Fire and starts off with a funny tongue in cheek message left by Kellin on Matty's answering machine which last for roughly 45 seconds then the song truly begins with a drum beat that gets you bouncing, this song is the one that will get people at festivals jumping and throwing their hands in the air and will be for many the best song on the album and it is a true stand out and Matty puts on a brilliant performance and with that comes the end of the guest appearances on the album.
Now the final four songs that round out the album a Sleeping With Sirens solo and Deja Vu is a pretty damn good song to reintroduce people to Sleeping With Sirens by themselves and shows how they can create fun and original songs that will appeal to most people without alienating the fan base that they have already established and the same goes for These Things That I've Done, both songs show the strength of Kellin Quinn's writing skills as well as Jack Fowler's ability to think up a great riff as well as creative use of synthesizers. Sorry and Satellites are the two songs that round of the album and both are slower songs than the previous offerings on the album, one of which documents Kellin's feelings about being father and how his childhood may have an impact on his abilities as a parent and the other a sombre song which is a brilliant way to close the album and one on which the individual talents of the band shine bright and Kellin in particular wears his heart on his sleeve as he bears all to the listener.
