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Sleeper X are one such group who invite us to re-think our
assertions and beliefs. Their lyrical outlook is blended with
sound bites from eclectic objects, grinding guitars and rhythms
counter punched with dropped scale melody. Singer James Crossland
believes that it is a collective instinct and irrational harmony
within the band that produces this unique take on the heavy genre.
“It’s like a collective form of confidence. Confidence in
ourselves that whatever we’re doing, be it a riff, or a beat, or
the sound of a billiard ball being rolled along the top of a
piano, it’s going to sound the way we want it and ultimately
that’s all that matters.” It is in this confidence that the
strength of the band lies. Instead of seeking the right formula
for mass appeal, Sleeper X are committed to driving home their
message whilst remaining fiercely independent.
Scanning the new lyrics for their upcoming EP ‘Music For The
Esteemed Gentlemen’ it is clear that Crossland is again going to
be unrelenting in covering his self proclaimed paranoia with barb
soaked witticisms. While the larger issues of their first EP
‘Everything You Know is Wrong’ are still there on songs such as
‘The Great White Hope’ this time around Crossland is looking to
explore suburban attitudes and morality in songs such as
‘Traitors’. Within this song we have macabre images of archaic
superstitious rituals, “entrails over your shoulder”, blended with
sarcastic jibes at popular consumer culture, “I’ll shoot every
pauper I see until I get the Coke I ordered in this place”. While
his method seems deliberate Crossland sees his lyrics as a
spontaneous purging of his subconscious. “I don’t tend to write
songs with a specific thought in mind, the lyrics are just
scattered words and phrases or stream of consciousness stuff
that’s been clogging up my head, jumbled around until they fit the
music.” This said the impression after listening to Sleeper X is
that Crossland manages to arrange his lyrics in such a fashion
that they take on meaning that he himself does not immediately
see.
The musical approach of Sleeper X is definitely in the realms of
bands such as Machine Head and Carcass, however for all the
brutality in the approach an irreverence is itching just below the
surface that creates an intriguing and harmonious dynamic. With
MFTEG due in 2006 and an east coast tour in December Sleeper X are
well poised to bring their troubled message and atmospheric
soundscapes to a far wider audience. If you think you know this
band, think twice. They may just wake you from your apathetic
slumber. |
