EP REVIEW: Sister Sleep - "In Bad Faith"
Sister Sleep Brings In A Beautiful Blend of The Misfits and MCR
by Jesse Smith
GKE favorites and Atlanta locals, Sister Sleep is back and this time with a collection of post hardcore heaters! Sister Sleep has been on our radar for a while now, starting with their last EP “Wraith and Rosary” which got incredible feedback both from us and their fans. Their approach to old school emo and post hardcore is what we have been wanting to hear. It is a delicate balance, you either sound too much like MCR or Peirce the Veil, but not Sister Sleep. As they wear their influences on their sleeves, they still manage to sound genuine and unique to themselves. Not afraid to try new things or push past the boundaries their last release had, Sister Sleep has taken a huge step forward in both identity and in song writing. I was a fan of this band instantly when I heard the last EP for the first time, and in all aspects I believe they really stepped their game up.
Artwork for “In Bad Faith EP”
Produced by Aaron Pace, “In Bad Faith” has more of a horror punk vibe to it, from concepts to tone and recording choices. I really heard this in one of the songs that wasn’t a single but stood out immediately to me which was the track called “Target Practice”. The guitar tone to me screamed The Misfits and when I thought about it, It would make complete sense for them to take some of that style and blend it. The EP starts with a single and one of my favorites called “In Tenebris” which was the first single that was released for this EP. The opening guitar riff was so fun to listen to and set the old theatrical emo vibe immediately. Not only that, but like I said breaking boundaries, the musical swing that was in the verses was super sick and again had that old time-y vibe that I’m obsessed with. The other single I have been really rocking is “The Arsonist” which we reviewed on GKE. That to me is the heaviest song on the EP but has one of the most memorable choruses. I don’t know if it is because of the higher tempo and more aggressive writing but it has been stuck in my head again. When I hear a new band that “sounds like MCR” I normally hear this style of writing that blends the 2010’s post hardcore with it, but being that The Arsonist is the outlier in the EP made my heart happy, it showed the band was creative and willing to take risks. Not only did the song writing take a step up, the vocals and the delivery did as well. Sister Sleep is a very vocal driven band, and they showed their range not only in how high or low, but range in different styles. Like I said, The Arsonist is majority post hardcore with the super high and poppy chorus, but in their outro “Mirrormasked” there is more of an emo/RnB feel which came with it’s own completely different vibe.
Sister Sleep is making a name for themselves and their hard work is showing. I had the pleasure of seeing them live in Atlanta to a larger crowd and they absolutely won that crowd over. They were extremely tight and fun to listen to. For being a relatively new band, I think they have a bright future. This is the second EP release that I have been behind and saw the vision that they were going for. Honestly, there is nothing generic about this band, and the song quality is only going up and up. The music video they have for their single “The Venom You Spit” showcases the vibes I was describing perfectly. Gritty like an older rock/punk band, theatrical, and all around a cool vibe. I’m interested in seeing where this band goes from here, two things are for sure though. They have love and support from their hometown which is massive, and they’re already making fun and entertaining music. I speak for everyone at GKE, we love Sister Sleep and their new EP.