Sleepless - 7" Split With Cold Days

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Yes, I would be more than honored to immerse myself in the new Sleepless songs and review them on my measly blog. Thank you for thinking of me.
     Toronto is a living, breathing music mecca these days. With so many wonderful bands creating so many disparate sounds, you might imagine it would be difficult to make an impact with your music. In many cases that is true. For all the bands from that city that I have an affinity for, a lot of them are treading a very similar, aurally familiar path. Tons of Screamo and Sludge and Power-Violence and whatnot... Don't get me wrong, I love and cherish all of that. But, sometimes, you just want to ROCK! Like, I mean solid, meat n' potatoes Rock. The kind that sticks to your ribs and makes your belly feel full and warm and... Damn, I just want to bang my head so hard right now!
     I have reviewed these guys before. My thoughts have not changed. Sleepless are ten times better than all the myriad Balance & Composure/Transit/Seahaven clones wandering the earth right now. This is Emo-Post-Rock-Post-Hardcore-Post... played like the 90's were still in full swing. And, I just love it!! Gruff, melodic, hook-laden hopefulness with a very dry, self-deprecating sense of pain and anguish in the lyrics. The guitar lumbers and sways and these guys definitely understand the concept of loud/soft.
     My original comparisons still stand. The Casket Lottery, On The Might Of Princes, Small Brown Bike, Hero Of A Hundred Fights... I would also throw in some Foo Fighters and Queens Of The Stone Age this time around. Basically, this is emotional Post-Everything steeped in heavy doses of Alt-Rock with a little Blues-based boogie for good measure. I was so excited for these songs to come out and I am certainly not disappointed. Thank you Ben. Thank you guys.
    Don't sleep on Sleepless. If you do, you will absolutely regret missing the boat on a band that is bound for bigger and better things. I predict a tour with Title Fight sometime within the next year... It will happen.

Sleepless - Unsteady Hands EP

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It is almost 70 degrees in Seattle today. Spring is here, Summer is on it's way. How wonderful that I was turned on to this perfect warm weather music by Ben, the guitar player and lead vocalist of Sleepless. Sleepless play PERFECT Summer music! Pure and simple. Think of On The Might Of Princes. Think of The Casket Lottery. I don't really have much more to say. They are from Canada, I love them. You should too. Boundless Post-Hardcore with a heavy ROCK backbone. Every song is good, 'Anchored' is my favorite. The lyrics are poetic and personal. There might be some political undertones, though, it is up to you to decipher that for yourselves. I wish I could wax philosophic about how great this EP is to me. I won't. I can't. I have been left speechless.

Strays - S/T EP

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     I thought this blog was dead. I haven't posted anything here for months, one of my longest inactive streaks ever. Leave it to my insanely talented friend Ben to get me back in the mood to fawn over another one of his awesome bands!!! Ben used to play in Sleepless, whom I have written about a couple times before. They became one of my absolute favorite Emo/Post-Hardcore bands almost instantly after hearing them for the first time a couple years ago. This post isn't about my love for Sleepless, this is about the Hard Rockin' juggernaut that is Strays. For a two-piece, the sound here is very full, building off some seriously scuzzed-out, balls-to-the-wall, revved-up Rock with instantly recognizable Post-Hardcore leanings. These Ontarians have created a Bluesy, gritty, Punk as fuck masterpiece that will have fans of bands like Panthers, Black Flag, Thin Lizzy, Planes Mistaken For Stars, Trapdoor Fucking Exit, JR Ewing, Malkovich & Stolen Bikes Ride Faster slamming around their rooms with wild abandon. While it is unfortunate that Sleepless is dead, I am so glad Ben is still rocking his ass off and having fun playing what makes him happy. Strays make me wish I had long hard so I could achieve the true hessian headbang to these songs. If you like your Punk with heavy doses of ROCK, you will not be disappointed.