Review: Sleeping With Sirens - Madness

A Lot has happened in the Sleeping With Sirens camp since the release of the band’s last album, Feel. Not only did they lose long-time member Jesse Lawson and gain one in the form of Nick Martin, but they scrapped an album, moved to Epitaph Records and have finished two legs of their massive world tour with Pierce The Veil. The band are about to drop their fourth record, Madness, in North America and Legendary Kids Press decided to give it a listen.
Right off the bat, it should be said that those looking for a repeat of With Ears To See And Eyes To Hear are going to be majorly disappointed. That release appears to be a one-off for Sleeping With Sirens and since then, the band’s sound has evolved into something different. Think of Madness more as the best of Let’s Cheers To This and Feel with spices of pop and acoustic thrown in.
The album kicks off with lead single, “Kick Me”. The most reminiscent of old-school Sleeping With Sirens, it’s an infectious track that carries a pretty raw rock sound. While the lyrics are a little lack-luster, a theme that appears a couple of times throughout Madness, the energy of the song alone is enough to keep fans happy and have them overlook “Go Go Go”, which, along with the album’s title track, leave little to be desired.
However, the rock sound heard on “Kick Me” doesn’t appear much, only again popping up in “We Like It Loud”, which features aggressive lyrics and screams, things that are almost non-existent in the band’s new catalogue. Instead, Sleeping With Sirens opt for diversity in Madness, showcasing pop, acoustic, ballads and alternative rock - things that could easily break the band, given their scene, but work in their favour.
Tracks like “Gold”, “November” and “The Strays” showcase the band’s lighter side, with the former’s lyrics making up for its average instrumentation (”We made our mistakes, it’s not too late. We had to learn the hard way”) and the latter showcasing an absolutely beautiful collection of vocals and music.
As aforementioned, the album is hit and miss lyrically. It’s easy to see that the band can write good lyrics, but the emotion and depth that was present in Feel and Let’s Cheers To This seem to have faded since the departure of Lawson. Thankfully, the band make up for it with the instrumentation.
At times, tracks sound similar to each other (eg. “The Strays” and “Left Alone”), but for the most part, Madness is an album where nothing sounds too close, with tracks like “Heroine” and “Don’t Say Anything” featuring a melodic alternative rock vibe and “Save Me A Spark” featuring a pop sound similar to the likes of 5 Seconds of Summer.
Overall, Madness is an album that genuinely is Sleeping With Sirens’ best showing in years. Feel was honestly a bit of a letdown, so having this album come out featuring the strength it does is encouraging in more ways than one. While the band have definitely left the post-hardcore sound that introduced listeners to them, they’ve matured and its shows in the variety offered in Madness. Not every track will appeal to everyone, but there is definitely something for listeners of all types, and it is definitely an album that trumps early misconceptions. Personally, it surprised me in more ways than one.
Download: Kick Me
4/5
