Genre : Math-rock
Released : November 12th, 2021
Label : Sofa Boy Records
FFO : American Football, Covet, toe
I discovered Delta Sleep only a couple years ago by going through some of ArcTanGent's line-ups from previous editions of the festival and randomly checking out bands whose names called out to me.
I immediately fell in love with the band's unmistakable spin on the math-rock genre and their 2018 album "Ghost City" rapidly became an all-time favourite as well as a go-to comfort album that effortlessly conjures up strong emotions with every listen.
On "Spring Island", Delta Sleep continue to expand on their perfect combination of technical rhythmic patterns and noodly, clear-sounding mathy riffs with endearing vocal performances and lyricism that has a tendency to be much darker than what is happening musically, and as a result, hits even harder and sometimes perhaps even a bit too close for comfort.
Where "Ghost City" 's narrative revolved around returning to nature's embrace and escaping the dreary routine of modern life in a dystopian city, "Spring Island" focuses on the overhanging sword of Damocles that is climate change and of course, like many, many other albums this year : dealing with the isolation brought forth by the (still) ongoing pandemic.
Musically speaking, "Spring Island" feels more contemplative and slower-paced than its predecessors, with less of a focus on math-rock technicality but rather on atmospheres and the darker undertones in the band's music, trading the inspirational grandeur of "Ghost City" for a more personal and melancholic approach.
Overall, this album feels like a natural progression of Delta Sleep's sound and offers a narrative that makes perfect sense both musically and thematically given the current state of the world.
Introspective, dark yet comforting while still offering some energetic and uplifting moments, Delta Sleep have delivered some top-tier math-rock excellency yet again on this new full-length album.
Comments