SLEEPING WITH SIRENS - HOW IT FEELS TO BE LOST (DELUXE)
Alex shares their thoughts on the latest Sleeping With Sirens release, How It Feels To Be Lost (Deluxe), and lets you know whether they think you should listen or not.
On September 6th 2019, Sleeping with Sirens released their latest album ‘How it Feels to Be Lost’. Since it’s release, the album has earned the band 40 million streams and has been featured on multiple Spotify official playlists. To celebrate the album’s success, the band is releasing a deluxe edition featuring a new song and acoustic reworks of tracks from the album, some of which VIP fans had the chance to listen to at their shows before quarantine started.
‘Leave It All Behind’ was the first track Sleeping with Sirens released to promote the album, and is filled with a mix of electronics and their classic tone. The lyrics in the song touches on the base that if the listener is feeling as if they are on the brink of giving up, to look for escapes and to know they are not alone in the world. The song includes a ton of melodic virtues while also containing the aggressiveness listeners have come to love from the band.
Sleeping with Sirens were able to include a collaboration with Good Charlotte member, Benji Madden, on the second track, ‘Never Enough’. The song is slightly more melodic than the track before, and includes a chorus that is sure to get stuck in the heads of the listeners. The line, “So I’m ripping my heart out for everyone to see” in Madden’s part brings up a sense of imagery into the mind of the narrator of the song and the before line ‘Maybe the pain was just to push me forward’ indicates that the hardships in the present are to help them move further in their lives.
The title track, ‘How it Feels to be Lost’ begins a lot slower in the beginning, opening with the lines ‘Life is walking on a tightrope with nothing but a blindfold’ which is easy to resonate with how it feels going through life. The song also pushes on the idea of hardships that people go through in their lives, feeling as if they are going one step forward and two steps back, and feeling as if things will not get better and losing hope. The song includes a hard chorus and melodic verses that perfectly contrast each other to create an amazing song.
Adding a softer side to the album, ‘Ghost’ brings a simple guitar riff, accompanied with drums and Kellin Quinn’s voice to create a soothing atmosphere. When the chorus hits, it’s easy to see the imagery meant to be portrayed in the song. Hints of grief give the song a sadder tone, accompanied by the growing tone of the song made by backing vocals and strings. The track touches on losing hope that there is anything left after death and provides a great different side to the album.
To add a harder side to the album, ‘Break me Down’ has all the screams and heavy guitars that early Sleeping with Sirens have come to love. The lyrics and instrumental bring a massive sense of power all the way through. The lyrics indicate a sense of not giving up, and not backing down from what one thinks is right, and it is evident through the power of Quinn’s vocals.
‘Medicine’ was the name of the group’s last US tour, and brings another harder side to the album, beginning with the strong guitar in the beginning, and Quinn’s vocals. The song tells the story of someone being scared of who they have become, and trying to warn others to stay away from them while at the same time asking for help from them to allow them to get better.
A softer point of the album can be found with ‘Dying to Believe’ which includes acoustics and Quinn’s voice in the beginning. A sense of escape can be found in this song, as the narrator tells the listener that they are slipping away and want to get out of the position and place that they are currently in. The song closes with the same calming guitar as before and creates a perfect end to the original album.
Three weeks ago, the group released a new track ‘Talking to Myself’ that is included in the Deluxe version of the album. The track is another fast-paced song with strong vocals and an absolutely incredible chorus. It’s easy to get that this song somewhat sheds light on seeing people all around you being happy, but inside having your own problems and trying to work through them. The breakdown in the song, brings all the energy the band is known for, and brings somewhat of a nostalgic sense towards the end.
After this song, are the acoustic versions of three of the main songs on the album. The first one is ‘Leave it All Behind’ This version of the song brings an entirely new sense to the song, and makes it feel more like what the lyrics are intended for. The way the band has reworked the guitars and added other simple things like claps in the beginning help to create the new atmosphere.
‘Agree to Disagree’ is the second acoustic track the band put on the album. Being way more pop-like than the one before. The new instrumental with Quinn’s vocals help to make the song be more of a ‘get out of my way’ type of song, and gives the song more of a sense of ‘I’ll do this with or without you.’ The rework is something different from the band, but is successful nonetheless.
The acoustic version of ‘Ghost’ helps to bring the sense of grieving mentioned before to the song. The added vocals, and emphasis on the lyrics create a calming sensation throughout the track, and being perfectly placed at the end of this deluxe album, the line ‘It’s time to say goodbye’ rings out as the album closes.
Many listeners hear this and can easily remember the sound of the earlier days of the band, whilst others see the sound going in an entirely new direction. Whichever the case, this album was an amazing release for the group and the acoustics were complete reworks and not just the same song played acoustically, which is a great part of why it is special. Instead of taking the easy way out with it, they took the time to create something new that their fanbase would enjoy.
Alex Davidson
★★★★★