Lucy Neill reviews the EP ‘Moiranex’ by Sleepless Wild— a Suffolk-based quintet with hip-hop and alt-rock sounds fresh on the scene in July.
Sleepless Wild are an Ipswich based five-piece, founded in April, who have a unique blend of hip-hop, rock and alternative music, all fused together with vocalist Lewis Clarke, guitarists and vocalists Fagan Alexander and Ade Parkinson, bassist Josh Lee and drummer Rayna Vandèl.
The 6-track EP includes the songs Cut Scene Conversations, Stay, Benny Was Cold, Jackie Jones, Stay (Part 2) and This Hype. The first song on the EP, 'Cut Scene Conversations', starts off diving into the rock side of their sound before hitting into the frontman's smooth rhymes, while still keeping the alternative element. The catchy riffs leading to the melodic vocals from Fagan and Ade really tied the song together. Lewis' upbeat lyrics mixed with the alt-rock from the rest of the instruments is something you don't hear often; it's such a exceptional tangle of talent, two genres working perfectly with each other. It's no wonder Sleepless Wild have already had such great feedback on their sound. 'Cut Scene Conversations' ended with a slower, slightly reggae-ragga-ish-but-not-quite tune with the more melodic vocals, a good choice in the first track to introduce the rest of the EP.
'Stay', the second song on Moiranex, is slowed down a lot in comparison to Cut Scene Conversations. A more relaxing track, and a shorter one too. Both Lewis' vocals and the melodic vocals weave together with the rhythmic 'jazz-funk' guitar parts and flirtatious lyrics. There are so many different parts to this song, different instruments and vocals working in the background to make 'Stay' the great track that it is.
'Benny Was Cold' comes next. Unlike the first two, the feel of this track is darker with different emotions projected through the lyrics. Not only that, but there's a whole story in this song, of violence and family and betrayal, while also having the balance of the different vocals and guitar work, playing with different tempos and vibes. The constant guitar melody in the background is almost haunting in reflection of the lyrics.
The first thing that comes to mind when listening to 'Jackie Jones' is the two different vocal styles mixed in with Jack Johnson, merged with Arctic Monkeys, and some Santana-esque tones on the guitar. It's an interesting and a confusing crossover - in a good way, mind. The song gives off mellow vibes, and it surprised me how the hip-hop essence could be shown really well with the relaxed soft-rock sound.
The fifth song, 'Stay (Part 2)', has the same theme to it as the second song on the EP, but has more playful guitar parts and is a little bit more upbeat, and focuses more on the melodic vocals in the chorus'. This song has a hip-hop base, with bit of indie-rock in the middle and the smooth vocals layered on top to give it flavour. While Lewis' lyrics are just as libidinous and flirty as they were in 'Stay', the lyrics from Fagan and Ade are more amorous, but at the same time, not head-over-heels kind of lyrics.
Concluding the EP is 'This Hype' - returning to the alternative-rock that came with 'Cut Scene Conversations', this song is loud and boastful and fierce. With big rhymes and catchy guitar riffs, this is the heaviest song on the EP. Also, there are no melodic vocals on this track, and that with the exuberant sound from the guitars, bass and drums, show that Sleepless Wild want the last song on the EP to go out with a bang.
It's safe to say that Sleepless Wild have certainly made an amazing first impression on the local music scene, especially for a band who only formed in April. They have such a sophisticated blend of sounds that's shown so brilliantly through Moiranex, something that I've never come across before and will surely take the music industry by storm. If all this sounds like a band in search of a style, you'd be wrong, as they're not searching for a music style that suits them, but have actually found and developed one that is such an interesting crossover of styles, and I think with just a little more production, this rather unique combination could be very big indeed.
Facebook—http://www.facebook.com/sleeplesswild
