sleepmakeswaves - These Are Not Your Dreams (2020)

SLEEPMAKESWAVES are crushing it on the post rock scene. With support slots for RUSSIAN CIRCLES, BORIS and MONO all under their belt, their blending of post-y atmosphere with a more hardcore, anthemic sound winning them fans all over the world. Their fifth album, these are not your dreams, is released as a series of three EPs, and sadly is a very mixed bag.

The chilled out, almost glacial sound of the endings that we write is juxtaposed with black metal elements, and kicks SLEEPMAKESWAVES’ fifth album off to a good start. At 11 and a half minutes long, it’s a bold choice for an opener, but the band keeps intrigue going throughout its running time. The drums sound absolutely amazing here, so props to the sound technician. It really elevates their sound into something worthy of an arena singalong (or hum-along? It’s instrumental) and the sound is triumphant and euphoric. As but the first track in what could be described as a triple album, though, we’re really in it for the long haul, and it’s unfortunately, not too long before the album begins to sound incredibly bloated.

time wants a skeleton has a more tender sound, after the danceable beats of batavia, but the cracks begin to show here. The band begin to show off some experimentation with electronic instrumentation, but the use of synths works against the wide, expansiveness of the first track, and ends up sounding pretty sterilised.

There is a surprise addition of vocals in zelda, which is not inherently bad for a post-rock album – but in this case, the lyrics are completely unforgivable. “So much left to say, it’s all so soon / but I would have saved it all for you,” is leaning towards the so-generic-its-laughable end of the spectrum, and this song didn’t even really need it. Stick to the instrumentals, lads.

A band whose entire sound and aesthetic seems based on the concept of winter (their most-streamed song is It’s Dark, It’s Cold, It’s Winter, plus there are those promo shots…), it’s refreshing to see them expanding into more varied and textured territory, including the warmer sounds of cascades, and early standout of the album. A staccato guitar part (reminiscent of fellow post-rockers THIS WILL DESTROY YOU) builds into a fully-formed and introspective piece which ebbs and swells with all the ease of a band who knows exactly how to tug at your heartstrings. This is also where the vocals do pay off; a delicate and glacial falsetto sounds perfect juxtaposed with the organic backing instrumentation.

This band’s sound cannot be faulted for its reach and ambition – with a massive tracklisting and variation in sound over the course of the record, it’s clear that SLEEPMAKESWAVES are having exactly no problems in keeping the creative juices flowing. The sound is often expansive, organic and anthemic, as any good post-rock should be, and the boat is frequently pushed above and beyond the narrow constraints of the genre.

Overall, this is a solid offering for those hardcore fans who may want to expand their horizons into some more post-y territory. But for post-rock purists, this album will perhaps stray too near to the conventions of hardcore hooks and structures to be a firm staple in listening rotations.