The Sleeping - Big Deep
This is my opinion on The Big Deep by one of my favorite bands, The Sleeping
Compared to their last album, What it Takes (2009), last week's release of The Big Deep has shown us that The Sleeping continue to grow and evolve as musicians. While What it Takes often draws comparison to Rise Against (a comparison which I personally disagree with), The Big Deep shows The Sleeping leaning more towards the musical stylings of Brand New. The edge has been lost, but in a way the songs have only gained intensity. I personally love this change, and I'm particularly glad that The Sleeping's exceptional rhythm section hasn't skipped a beat.
Tracks
1. Dark Days - The album's opening track fades in with a metallicy guitar sound unlike anything I'd ever heard. Once the main riff is played, you can immediately sense that The Big Deep will be different from their past albums. As the song picks up, the bass and drums (which I've always believed are the best part of The Sleeping) keep the song at a steady, up-beat tempo. In the middle of the song, you hear that that the keyboard's organ tone from What it Takes has shifted to a spacey for this album. I love this. The music takes a darker tone, but it still sounds great. And of course, Doug's vocals never fail to impress
2. Boroughs of the Ocean - At 2:35, this is the album's shortest track. The opening keyboard is just beautiful. Pretty straightforward track, but solid.
3. Beautiful Gloom - Boy, they killed this one. This is by far my favorite song by The Sleeping. The main guitar riff is simple, but extremely catchy. Same goes for the chorus lyrics. In the second verse, you can definitely hear a Ska Punk influence. This seems perfect for them, seeing as they have such a strong rhythm section. The song closes with an outro solo, the kind of thing that was missing on What it Takes
4. Retiring Spies (Change Your Life) - With this track, the album has its first slowish song. Actually, I'd call it more of a ballad. But that's a stretch.
5. Deafening the UK - This track picks the pace back up. There is heavy use of synthesizer in this one, but it's sort of lost in the mix. This makes sense, I can see how it could easily overpower the rest of the song. Near the 2:30 mark, Sal's bass playing is on full display.
6. The Phantom of Darker Clouds - At 5:18, this is the longest track of the album. It is by far the slowest as well. This is a great swing song, much like Anyone Night Stand from What it Takes. It really shows the depth of songwriting talent that the guys possess. The bass line is absolutely wonderful, similar to that of "Big Empty" by Stone Temple Pilots.
7. Oh, Gloria - Another solid track. This one incorporates string parts in the chorus. This really strikes an emotional chord.
8. Get You Back - One of my personal favorites, this track is very ska/reggae.
9. The Big Deep - This track may be the most radio friendly of the album (unfortunately, Victory doesn't do the best job of promoting The Sleeping). Very clean guitars compared to the rest of the album.
10. Black Waves (Vaya Con Dios) - Another solid track, nothing special compared to the rest of the album
11. Young Vibes...Don't Run Away From Me - The albums first music video, features one of the most intense drum beats I've ever heard. Check it out for yourself on Youtube. (Would post link, but not enough posts....)
Overall, I loved The Big Deep. If you're looking for that old The Sleeping sound, you may be a little surprised by the lack of rough vocals and punkish feel, but that's not exactly a bad thing on this album. I'd recommend this album to anyone into Prog Rock.
P.S: This is my first review, what do you guys think?
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