Obsessed

Friday, July 28, 2023

It’s official… I’m obsessed with Sleep Token.

For the last three weeks, I have not stopped listening to Sleep Token’s entire discography. Considering they only have two EPs, a few singles, and three albums, that’s saying something. The total listening time is just about 3 1/2 hours, and I have it on repeat. I cannot get enough. I have not done this with any other band since Nine Inch Nails back in the 90’s. Nine Inch Nails has been my favorite for about 25 years. No band has come close. Not one. Until now.

I cannot even put into adequate words how good Sleep Token is. Their recording process is just two people, Vessel and II (as in the number 2). II handles all of the percussion and Vessel does EVERYTHING else. The sheer musical genius of Vessel and the talent of II, is just mind boggling. The song lyrics themselves blow everyone else out of the water. Then add the guitar, base, keyboards, piano, production, and OMG, Vessel’s voice *insert sigh here… I don’t know if there is anyone that can truly compare. The craziest thing is that you cannot actually put them in to a genre. They meld everything, even within a single song. Their ability to transition from one genre into another… I cannot begin to properly describe how flawless it is. They can go from a piano ballad to hip-hop to R&B to rock to metal and then end with a pop ballad (just listen to “Ascensionism”). It’s unbelievable.

If I’m not listening to their discography, then I’m watching YouTube videos of people reacting to listening to them for the first time. I find it justifying that the majority of the reactions are the same; wide eyes, pausing, and saying “WTF, how did they do that and make it sound so good?!” Even people who are already established fans, when they listen to songs from “Take Me Back To Eden” for the first time, they still have that same reaction. When listening to a new song of theirs, there’s only one thing to expect, you have zero idea where the song will go. There is no predicting it. Just when you think you have it figured out, they’ll go in a completely opposite direction and do it perfectly. Things that shouldn’t make sense together, do. It’s like magic, and I’m hooked.

They are so good that it’s scary.