EP REVIEW: i better start dreaming, vol. 1 – Good Sleepy
Multi-part releases are great at keeping the hype around a project going. In a world that seems like almost every musician is chasing after that viral hit, there is something exciting about knowing that there is more music to come. For example, BRING ME THE HORIZON fans are eagerly awaiting the follow-up to 2020’s Post-Human: Survival Horror. However, this can also prove to be a double-edged sword as the world moves forward; there is a worry that if you leave a release too late, it’ll fall into the void of forgotten music.
For GOOD SLEEPY, their new EP’s title of i better start dreaming, vol. 1 makes it clear that this is going to be a multi-part release. This is their first release since their 2021 album everysinglelittlebit and it comprises six songs; three are originals, and three are acoustic versions of tracks that have been previously released.
Losing Light is a funky rock song, with a thumping drum beat and fantastic guitar riffs. It has all the angst that is perfect for their brand of alternative punk and makes for a great opener. Unfortunately, Make Pretend falls into the trappings of alternative/punk. It sounds like the first song, if the first song had its charm stripped away. It sounds hollow. Even the guest vocals by L ST. German can’t save it. It is a shame, because the first song was so good.
This flaw continues onto the last of the original songs, See Through, which sounds like the band are sleep-walking through their roles. It is extremely unfortunate that the EP should go downhill so fast, because it started off so well.
Thankfully, the acoustic songs get things back to basics. The stripped-back approach works well for them, as you can really hear the talent of all the band. Furthermore, the pacing of the EP is not slowed down. Oddly enough, even though the songs that were not acoustic did not work on their own, the gradual slowing of the songs helped the transition from the non-acoustic songs to the acoustic songs.
However, the issue with all the songs is that they are quite short. Whilst this does help the pacing of the EP – as long songs tend to test people’s patience – short songs can also sound quite rushed and unfinished. This is most prevalent in the last song, The Dark (Acoustic), which is only a minute and 16 seconds long. It does not help that the lyrics are repetitive.
Ultimately i better start dreaming, vol. 1 starts off strong before going off the rails. The EP is good on a technical level; the instruments are good, and the pacing is fantastic. However, there is something important lacking in this EP: passion. It sounds like the band are going through the motions. Furthermore, the short runtimes of the songs do not help matters. Let’s hope that vol. 2 improves upon these mistakes.
Rating: 5/10
i better start dreaming, vol. 1 is out now via No Sleep Records.
Like GOOD SLEEPY on Facebook.