Sleep Waker

Alias

Alias, a contradictory word and a fitting name for an album that realizes its own identity despite overwhelming social pressures to conform.

Sleep Waker confronts these themes with the strength of a newfound maturity unseen in their previous work. While the subject matter remains similar, vocalist Hunter Courtwright’s evident lyrical evolution continues to explore the band’s struggle with sleep-related illnesses, loss, and finding one’s place in a plastic society. He calls attention to the blur in the line that separates reality and the artificial and exhibits unflinching will to confront oneself in the mirror.

The musicality of the band has also taken on a new form. Jake Impellizzeri and Jason Caudill’s guitar work feels braver, achieving a stadium wideness and a curiosity to expand on more ambient melodies. The “chug” apparent in previous albums remains present, yet no longer stands center stage. Drummer Frankie Mish and bassist Aaron Lutas provide a more daring rhythmical backbone for it all, taking control of and defining a pace that was transient in their EP Lost in Dreams and first album, Don’t Look At The Moon.

No longer does the band rely on a pure beatdown style of metal. The title track provides no better evidence of this with its unprecedented incorporation of clean vocals. While their earlier work could have benefited from pushing a few more boundaries in the metalcore formula of juxtapositional elements, “Alias” maintains the best aspects of Sleep Waker’s previous musical identity while embracing change with the self-awareness required to really take advantage of it.

Is there a guarantee I’ll remain me? There’s always comfort in the constant repeat.
Fall in the cycle, it’s always the same. But to be human is to constantly change. – “Alias”

Sleep Waker’s overall rage against the societal machine remains ever-present. The departure of loved ones, addiction, synthetic memories, and artificial veins — the core anxieties previously interrogated remain, but with imagery that pays homage to science fiction and one of my personal favorite films of all time. An ultimate acknowledgment that though one may be aware of the terrible machine, we are all inescapably a part of it.

Afraid of losing control. It’s like stepping out of time. Slowly falling down the rabbit hole. – “Cold Moon”

Dreams are also a prominent theme in tracks like “Melatonin” and “Insomnia,” both direct callbacks to Don’t Look At the Moon. However, these songs also exhibit some of what could be described as the band’s “bad habits.” While toned down dramatically, the self-deprecating nature of their lyrics is sometimes difficult to reconcile from song to song; Despising the world for not stretching out a helping hand in one track, then damning oneself as unworthy of the help anyway in the next.

Sleep Waker shines when they challenge the dark inevitabilities of trauma. In a world trying to put us into a mold, we must also seek to redefine and rebuild the mold that we create ourselves.

Alias feels personal — like the epic realization of an identity that has previously struggled to take form. As is evident in their latest album, Sleep Waker shines when they challenge the dark inevitabilities of trauma. In a world trying to put us into a mold, we must also seek to redefine and rebuild the mold that we create ourselves — something the band has sought since their debut EP and refined with every release.