A Vintage Garage Punk Record from SleepMarks
A fresh album release from SleepMarks manages to deliver quite the soiree of garage rock, punk, grunge, and elements of this vintage tonality that come through and let everything sound like it came from the late 70s or early 80s.
The tones of the instruments and how everything was recorded are some of my favorite aspects about this record as a whole, simply because it gives me bouts of nostalgia. It does feel authentically like a very early 80s punk sort of record in terms of the guitars, the way the drums were recorded, the bass guitar tones, and even the way the vocals come through gives the same sort of essence.
The record is called Tension In The Air, and it wastes very little time getting to the point with its first track "24 Hours a Day", which delivers a lot of this robust and lush soundscape but also the bands insanely vivacious energy that just comes through raw and unfiltered along with loads of hooks and melodies musically.
This is one of the things that I love about this record. It has a lot of musical Hooks and not just catchy choruses. Yes, there are loads of anthemic and sort of punch-packing choruses throughout the record, but there's also a lot of musical hooks, and that's something I feel like has been missing from good rock music for quite some time.
Let's get back to the guitar tones, though. The way the guitars come through varies ever so slightly between songs, and you still get this almost twangy but fuzzy distortion sound from them that brings with it a sonic drive like no other and reminds me of bands like The Stooges.
There is a great element of slop-rock throughout this record, and that looseness comes from the classic influences that probably brought this entire band together in general.
One of the songs that pushes some of that slop rock forward is "The Fire Burns", which, to me, serves as a testament to what you can expect a lot of from the record as a whole.
Between that first track and this one, which is the third track on the record, you begin to get a grasp on some of the staples that are given off throughout this release, and they are ones that you better hold on to because this band comes at you with a live performance style aesthetic.
Listening to this record makes you feel like you just watched a live show, and it almost seems like they recorded this thing live on the floor, and everyone involved was feeding off each other's energy.
I wasn't there of course so I'm not sure how exactly they did it but listening to the record makes you want to see them live right in your face, simply because if these guys are able to capture that kind of energy on record so well then seeing them live must be a real face-melter.
This is what I would expect from a band like these guys. They put everything into their performance, even on the record. Guitars are slammed but intricately performed, the drums bring that drive and power but also add a liveliness to the song so that they feel forward-moving, and the vocals are insanely animated, super fun, swagger-riddled, and classic.
This is for people who grew up listening to bands like The Stooges, Sex Pistols, or MC5, for example. Bands that broke some boundaries, put tons of energy into their recordings, and delivered tracks that were memorable and gave this very particular sort of aesthetic.
I feel like a lot of attention to detail went into the recording of the song, the tones of the instruments, and how everything would sound in the end game.
They were going for this aesthetic, and believe me when I tell you, they nailed it.
Now there are loads of other influences here, including pop and indie rock, garage rock in general, and more, and songs like "Kickin' In" still deliver the same gusto but in a slightly different manner, so that you have some great variety across the record.
This is why listening to the full album is a must. Listening to one or two tracks may give you that idea or just of what you can expect, but will not give you the full spectrum of what the album has to offer.
This is a full experience, and it's insanely fun. It'll make you want to move the couch back and jump around the living room. It's got that infectious energy, drive, and swagger that just connects and again, for me, it was nostalgic in a sense cuz I grew up listening to certain kinds of bands and these guys really held their own in terms of recreating this vintage soundscape so damn well.
At any rate, definitely check this out as soon as you can and turn it up loud or just don't listen to it at all.
I know, I shouldn't say things like that in a review, right? Wrong. This is an album meant to be listened to with the volume cranked.
Anyway, check this record out, and again, I suggest doing the full record in one shot because it's well worth your time.
